The Bonded
by WolfMadeFromAsh
Summary: Legends and myths are everywhere. But everyone knows that when it comes to the supernatural, most of the myths are true. Even when it involves something as simple as a soul mate...
1. Prologue

**AN: Hey all! Thanks for check out my story, this is my first for Teen Wolf, which I started watching of course as it ended (I know shame on me). I'm going to leave this up to give like a little taste of the story, I already have about 6 chapters read to post but want to see if it's even worth my time if there is any interest in seeing where this will go. This was an idea I kind of came up with after reading a few other stories, I was inspired and I bounced some things off my friend and well...you'll see. The timeline will not be dead on, and a little vague as far as specific years that have passed and such. The events of the show will play in, starting is off in the first season but the dialogue will vary but for things I think are important or that I just liked the delivery of I'll do my best to keep them the same. Gotta love the internet and the fans who put up full episode transcripts! Please let me know if I have peaked your interest, I might post the first chapter too, just to give a little more and wait for some feed back on whether or not I should continue.**

 **AN 2: Minor Edits, going through what has been posted for grammar and such, have a feeling it still won't be perfect but it should flow far better. Also adjusted the wording slightly on some and at the end.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Teen Wolf. (duh)**

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 **Prologue**

Every culture has their myths; the stories told and passed on from generation to generation. They differ some as they are passed along through the years, small details changing over time. Some myths are held onto, believed to be something other worldly or even godly. Then there are the ones that are more of an optimistic belief.

There is a belief or a story about soul mates in almost every society. Some people believe there is one person in the world that you are just meant to be with. One person out of billions across _hundreds_ of countries. It seems unlikely if you try to think about this idea and concept logically. With so many people in the world that go unmet, how can you be certain the one in front of you is your other half, that they are the one who completes and balances you?

Wolves, they mate for life. There are a lot less of them then there are humans; wolves find their mate and that's it for them. Does that mean it's their soul mate? Hard to say. Werewolves however, have their own legends about soul mates. For a werewolf to find their true match is a rare thing, many are hunted and killed before they can find their other half and some just don't have a true mate. Then there are the ones who don't believe it at all, the action so rare that it is more of a phenomenon; a ghost story.

It's believed that once a werewolf meets the eyes of their soul mate, they are instantly connected and find themselves being drawn to their counterpart before they can even register what it is that's happening. It becomes second nature to watch over them and care for them, to be their anchor and be the one to calm them. They become in touch with their emotions and can find them from almost anywhere, the connection working like a compass to point them in the right direction. The make each other stronger, like numbers making the pack stronger but they can manage the strength on their own.

There are a number of werewolves who don't believe this legend; very few have seen it, even less have claimed to experience it. It's something that is said to only affect those "born to the Moon", the number of natural born werewolves continues to dwindle as hunters like the Argents track them down and kill them. The bitten have out numbers the born by an impressive amount for several decades now.

But there have been instances where a half breed has been born, sharing the strength of a wolf without succumbing to the full moon and its temptations entirely. The half breeds spark hope in those who believe in the Bonded Pair or True Mate. When a pair meets, there is the potential for great power; a power that can withstand any foe. They could lead a new pack to rise above others, gaining respect across the globe. They could take on the hunters without fear.

They become the ultimate Alpha pair.

They become Bonded.


	2. 1: Derek

**AN: Okay, so here is the first real chapter. I'll hold off for a bit with the other ones to see if there is an interest in my continuing. I'm doing a general POV, with either Derek or my OC as sort of the main focus. Kind of relaying more of their emotions than the other.**

 **AN 2: in case you missed it from the previous "chapter", just some minor updates.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Teen Wolf. (duh)**

* * *

 **Chapter 1- Derek**

" _You of all people, Derek, should believe in this. People will be looking to you some day for leadership; if you don't believe, how can they?" Talia placed a gentle hand on her sons cheek, her eyes soft as they looked into his. She remembered how they had changed just a few nights before, from their gold brown to an icy blue. The shift broke her heart, but she knew her son would need her now more than ever to help him coop with what had happened. "I know you don't have faith right now, I know that you're hurting but, in time it will get better. Paige was a lovely, sweet, and kind girl. You helped her Derek and as much as it hurt you to do that, it was cruel to let her suffer."_

" _You think that makes it better? I should have protected her; instead she is dead because of me." Derek pulled away from his mother. "She was dead the moment she even spoke to me." Derek turned, moving away from his mother. "Everyone is."_

Paige, every now and then her image flickers in his mind; her smile, the look she got when she practiced, the way she rolled her eyes when tried to impress her. She was innocent, young. And he ended her life before it really started; it was something that haunted him every day. His mother tried to help him coop, but he became distant and pushed away everyone around him. Then they were all gone. He was left with only his sister Lauren and Kori, the daughter of a longtime family friend who had died in the fire also. Paige was his first love and he would never forget her, but he found himself thinking about someone else more and more frequently. If he were honest with himself, it was something going on subconsciously from a very young age.

Kori was never far from his thoughts to begin with; he would wonder if she was okay and how she was doing in school. She grew up with him and his family, she was part of their pack. It was his job to take care of her and look after her, but there had been something else lately that had him thinking about her more and more. The texting back and forth had become more frequent in the last year or so and there were a few more calls than there had been in the past. Derek thought that he was just missing the pain in the ass, he hadn't seen her in four years so it made sense. She was funny, smart, sarcastic, and always on him about something. He wore too much black. His face is too serious. His hair is too long; he had actually cut his hair when she made that comment and has kept it shorter ever since. She was annoying at times, but growing up without her running around would have been boring.

Derek laid in bed, wide awake at 3 AM; his mind unable to shut off. Thoughts of Paige, his mother, the fire, Peter, even Kori never easing up. He reached over, grabbed his phone and opened his messages. He tapped open his most recent conversation and typed out a quick message and hit send. He locked his phone, but before he even had a chance to put it back in it place it was going off in his hand. Smirking at the name that flashed across the screen, Derek answered.

"Go to sleep." Greeted a young female voice

"What about you? Why are you awake and calling me at 3 in the morning?" Derek answered in amusement.

"Because you messaged me. _You_ woke _me_ up Derek."

"I was just wishing you a happy birthday, kid."

"Kid? You think that at 17 you could stop calling me kid?"

Derek smiled in the darkness of his room. "Maybe next year. Go back to bed."

"Why don't you just _go_ to bed, I'm sure you've been lying awake for hours brooding about something or other. You gotta sleep man."

"Happy birthday Kori."

"SLEEP! Tell Laura I say hi."

"What? Laura isn't-"

"Good night!"

"Wait Kori…" Before Derek could finish his sentence, Kori had disconnected.

He froze, staring at his darkened screen. _'Tell Laura I said hi'?_ Laura was in Beacon Hills. With Kori. She was just there; two days ago, she was there.

Derek jumped out of bed, grabbing a shirt and throwing on pants. He grabbed whatever else he had thrown about the room and stuffed it into his duffle bag. He tugged on his leather jacket, grabbed his keys and was out the door. 3:16 in the morning, Derek cranked his sleek black Camaro to life and was on the road, heading toward Beacon Hills.

Kori thought Laura was with him but he thought she was with her.

'So where is Laura?'

He tried calling her cell, but got no answer. He slammed his hand against the steering wheel as fear and panic began to grab hold of him. He tightened his hands on the steering wheel, pressing down on the gas, his car lurched forward with an angry roar.


	3. 2: Kori

**AN: Slight edits, very minor.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Teen Wolf. (duh)**

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 **Chapter 2- Kori**

"Kori! Get up! School!"

Kori groaned, pulling the covers up over her face, rolling onto her side. After calling Derek at 3 in the morning she couldn't get back to sleep, the alert from his message had woken her up out of her light sleep. She was up a little while after hanging up with him, thinking about how she swore he tried to say something else to her before she disconnected, but figured he was just making some smartass comment. She had finally fallen back asleep only to be woken up 45 minutes later by her uncle calling for her to get up.

Moments after there being no response her door flew open and there was a bouncing on her bed

"Hey. Get up. Come on." The body on her bed poked her side, to which she squirmed away from. "Gotta _go_. No more sleepy time. Up, up, up." The boy who was trying to entice her to get up, began to push on her side, shaking her awake.

"Oh my _God_! Stiles get _off_!" Kori threw her blanket off of her and fixed him with a cold stare.

"Hey," Stiles threw his hands up at her angry glare, in surrender. "Don't shoot the messenger! I was just following orders!"

"You'd think on my _birthday_ I would be able to skip school or at least go in late." Kori grumbled, shaking her head.

"Yeah, that _would_ be nice huh? _But_ your ride leaves in 10, so get your _ass_ up and let's _go_!" Stiles left the room, slamming the door behind him. "Sorry!" He called from outside

Kori got herself out of bed, brushing her hair and teeth before throwing on a pair of deep blue jeans and a mint green chiffon tank top. She grabbed her bag off the back of her chair and headed out her door.

She rounded the corner into the kitchen to find a cluster of balloons tied to a chair, a large foil one at its center saying "Happy Birthday" and a box wrapped in red and black paper sitting on the table.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Yelled her uncle and cousin, who threw his hand above his head with a big grin.

Kori smiled, giving her uncle a hug and shoving Stiles with a laugh. "Thank you."

"Here, open it." Her uncle handed her the wrapped box with a soft smile.

"I told you not to get me anything, why don't you ever listen?" She said with a smirk and an eye roll.

"I know, but it's your 17th birthday Kori and you have to go to school this year since it fell on the first day. I felt bad." Her uncle explained with a shrug.

"You don't feel bad for me." Stiles mumbled sourly.

"Because your birthday is in the summer Stiles."

"Well…you still like her more than me. I'm your _son_ , remember?"

"Stiles."

"Yeah pop."

"Shut up." Stiles stared at his dad with an open mouthed shocked expression.

Kori shook her head at the two bickering as she pulled at the paper of the present in her hand. She unwrapped the package to find that the box was just a plain brown smaller shipping box, no give away as to what it contained but it had a bit of weight to it. She looked at her uncle with a raised eyebrow.

He smiled. "I wanted you to actually _see_ it before you yelled at me, so I put it in a new box."

"Put _what_ in a new box?" She set it on the counter, slowly opening the sealed box.

"Well, I knew yours broke last month because Stiles told me. I'm guess it was something he let slip out since you never said anything to me about it. So I picked up some overtime down at the station and…"

Kori reached into the box, pulling out a new Nikon DSLR camera. "You got me a new camera?!"

"I got you a new camera." Her uncle grinned at her, seeing the excitement flashing in her eyes.

"This-this is too much Uncle Noah, seriously. You can't afford this!"

"I didn't pay full price, it was a demo unit and I had some help hunting down the best deal. Everything works perfectly; Stiles had someone check it out for me. Kori, you're head of the photo club, photo editor for the school newspaper and lead photographer, and you love doing this. You can't have a broken camera."

"But, I was saving. I have some money stashed to fix or replace my old one, let me pay something towards it."

"No way, not happening. This is a present young lady, you will not pay a cent toward your own birthday present."

"I helped pay for it Kor, it wasn't all on him. You know its ok to be selfish every now and then right?"

Kori pulled both men into a hug. "Thank you. Really, for everything."

"Anything for you, kiddo."

Stiles was the first to wiggle out from the embrace. "Ok, too much family bonding." He bent down to grab his bag and lacrosse stick. "As much as I am loving this family togetherness, we do have to get moving. So, if you're coming Kori…" Stiles nodded his head toward the door.

Kori rolled her eyes, gave her uncle a quick kiss on the cheek and followed after Stiles, her new camera in hand.


	4. 3: Kori

**AN: Minor edits.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Teen Wolf. (duh)**

* * *

 **Chapter 3- Kori**

Stiles pulled up to the school in his Jeep, rolling his eyes when Kori's boyfriend stood on the sidewalk waiting for her. "Ugh, _why_ do you even date him? Couldn't you find another boyfriend, like… _any_ other guy? Literally _anyone_ other than him."

"Luke's not my boyfriend. We just…hangout." Kori explained, gathering her stuff together.

"Hangout? Like sit in his car outside the house and make-out for 20 minutes kind of hanging out? The guy is a jerk, Kori. He's picked on me since like the first grade."

"Because you don't know when to shut up Stiles. See you later." Kori got out smiling at Luke as she approached him, the pair hanging back as a gray Porsche pulled in.

"Let the invisibility activate." Stile sighed.

"Dude, what are you talking about?"

Stiles jumped, flaying his arms around at the sudden sound of another voice next to him. "Scott! Don't do that!"

"Sorry." Scott said sheepishly, stepping back as Stiles got out of his Jeep. "What were you talking about? Invisibility?"

"Kori." Stile gestured to his cousin, laughing with Luke and her friends. "She's got Luke's arm around her, they're waiting on Jackson's stupid face and soon they will be meeting up with Lydia. The wall will go up and I, her loving and kind cousin, will become invisible to her."

"That's crazy. That didn't happen last year, why would that happen this year?"

Scott and Stiles walked up the steps to the school. "Something is different this year, I can feel it."

Scott shook his head with a lopsided smile. "You're over thinking things again. Oh! I almost forgot to tell you, I found the other half of the body."

"You what!? Where? When?"

"After your dad grabbed you, I was walking back and there were these deer going insane; they almost killed me. And then something attacked me too, it bit me."

"What was it?"

Scott shrugged. "I don't know, looked like a wolf or something."

Kori watched her cousin entering the school, deep in conversation in hushed tones with Scott. The word 'body' flowed through the air, catching her attention from a few feet away but she wasn't able to pick up on anything else. She ignored it figuring the two of them were going to do something stupid and get themselves into trouble with one of her uncles cases that Stiles just couldn't leave alone. She went back to pretending to pay attention to Luke and Jackson as they talked about lacrosse. Her interest was piqued again when she heard Scott mention something about a 'wolf'. The two had disappeared inside before she could find out what exactly they were talking about.

"Helllooo, Kori? Were you listening? Party at Jacksons after our first victory."

Kori's head snapped to attention. "Lydia? When did you get here?"

"Seriously? What is with you, I've been talking to you for the last 5 minutes. You didn't hear a thing I said, did you?"

Kori shrugged. "Sorry, I zoned out. I'll be there though."

"And try outs?" Lydia questioned.

"She's gotta come, she need to watch her man at work." Luke pulled her closer to his side.

Kori pushed back a little, with a roll of her eyes. "I'll be there to _work_." She said, holding up her camera and waving it. "Plus, my cousin will be there too, gotta support the family."

"Who's your cousin?" Jackson questioned with a grin.

Kori glared at Jackson and sighed. "Stiles. My cousin Stiles, you _know_ this."

"The dork with the ratty Jeep? _He's_ your cousin?" Luke asked with a laugh.

Anger flared up inside Kori, she shove away from Luke's hold. "For someone who claims to be my " _man_ ", how do you not even know who my cousin is when I ride with him _literally_ every day? Watch what you say about him. I'm not afraid to humiliate you in front of everyone by kicking your ass." The bell sounded and the crowds outside moved toward the doors. "I have to get to class." Kori turned, leaving her friend bewildered behind her.

At Lunch Kori avoided Lydia, Jackson, and Luke, who threw her a look when she walked passed their table and moved to sit with Stiles and Scott.

"See, I told you that you were crazy." Scott said as Kori sat down, throwing Scott a questioning look.

Stiles shook his head. "It's nothing, ignore him. He's working through some personal issues, what he says can't be taken seriously right now."

"Stiles thinks that you're going to ditch him for Lydia and Jackson-OW!"

Stiles smacked Scott in the back of the head. "Dude! Shut up."

"Stiles, I'm not going to start blowing you guys off, if I was I would have done that already. It's not like I became friends with them overnight, we've been friends for a couple years now. Oh, and speaking of overnight…what were you doing that Uncle Noah was dragging you in the house so late?"

"What? No, um, nothing. Just well. Yeah…Nothing." Scott hung his head, shaking it sadly for his friend.

"You're a terrible lair, the stuttering doesn't help you at all by the way." Kori just stared at Stiles, waiting for him to give her a real answer.

Sighing, Stiles finally answered under the pressure of her gaze. "Okay, fine. We were looking for a dead body."

"Half of one." Scott interjected.

Stile pointed to Scott. "Right, half of a body."

"Half of a dead body? Where?"

Stiles' eyes actually sparkled with excitement as he began to share what he knew about the girl that was found in the woods. "The police got a call in last night, someone reported having seen a body in the woods but it was only half of it. The lower half of a female was found but they're still looking for the rest."

"So naturally you dragged Scott out to look?"

"Well, yeah. I wasn't going alone. Anyway, dad caught me out there and sent me home, following me the whole way. It's like he doesn't trust me."

"Hm, yeah I wonder why."

"I had left Scott out there and he ended up finding the other half. Or so he says."

"I did!"

"Did you call the police? Shouldn't they be out there picking it up to get an ID?"

Scott shook his head. "I was too busy trying not to get killed."

"What do you mean?" Kori looked to Scott in confusion.

"Something attacked him after he found the body, I think he just fell and is being over dramatic."

"I told you, it was a wolf or something; that's probably what the deer were running from."

"A wolf? Here? There haven't been any reports of wolves around here in decades; I doubt it was a wolf Scott."

"Thank you! That's what _I_ said."

"I don't know!" Scott exclaimed. "It was _something_. All I know is that is looked like a wolf, what do you want me to say?"

Kori shifted in her seat, a wave of unease filling her.

"Whatever," Stiles waved his hand dismissively. "Are we going to go back out there to look for the other half of the body?"

"I have to go back, I dropped my inhaler and those things are like 80 bucks."

"Awesome, so we are going back out, you coming Kori?"

"To go in search of a dead body of some poor girl that you shouldn't even be going near?"

"Yeah." Stiles responded, unfazed by Kori's hidden warning and sounding far too eager.

"No, I'm good. Thanks though."

Stiles shrugged. "Your loss."

The bell sounded, ending their lunch period.

"Oh Mr. Harris, how I loathe thee." Stiles commented as he rose from the table, slinging his back over his shoulder.

"See you guys there." Kori smiled, waving to Stiles and Scott as she stepped into the hall, making her way to her locker.


	5. 4: Kori

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Teen Wolf. (duh)**

* * *

 **Chapter 4- Kori**

The end of the day came and Kori went to her locker to drop off some unneeded books before heading up to the lacrosse field for the tryouts. She saw Lydia standing by the bleachers, already cheering on Jackson, with a new girl.

"Lydia!" Kori called out, coming up behind her.

"Ugh, there you are. Where have you been all day? You've been avoiding me and everyone else since that little outburst this morning."

Kori rolled her eyes. "Getting pissed about someone ragging on my cousin isn't an outburst. Luke was out of line, and Jackson _knows_ that Stiles is my family. Why was he acting like a jack ass?"

"Oh, you know how he can get sometimes." Lydia explained with a waved of her hand. "Come on, let's go up and sit and cheer our men on." Lydia grinned walking ahead of the two girls.

Kori extended her hand in greeting to the new girl. "I'm Kori by the way; you'll have to excuse Lydia's poor manners. Jackson is her number one focus at the start of the season."

"I was getting to the introductions." Lydia called as the three girls sat in the middle row of the bleachers. "Kori Marshall, my _endearing_ best friend, this is Allison Argent and she is our new best friend." Kori felt a hitch in her heart beat, _Argent?_. "Hey, you're doing it again."

Kori blinked, shaking her head. "What?"

"Zoning out! What is _with_ you today? Oh look! There's Jackson, GO JACKSON WOO!"

Allison smiled, laughing as Lydia bounced up and down in the stands. "God, she gets really into this huh?" she asked Kori with a grin.

Kori nodded. "Uh, yeah. Very into it, Jackson's the captain and her boyfriend so it's kind of her duty to jump up and down like an idiot."

"Cheering on my boyfriend with enthusiasm is not the same as jumping like an idiot. You should be doing the same thing, poor Luke won't know you're rooting for him."

"Luke?"

Lydia sat down, looking from Kori to Allison. "Kori's boyfriend, he's the one there next to Jackson, number 31. Cute, funny, great on defense. The whole package really, next to Jackson of course."

"He's not my boyfriend Lydia; you're the one who keeps pushing that. And him." Kori rolled her eyes, taking out her camera as Stiles came up next to take a few shots. "Woo! Come on Stiles! You got this!" She yelled, turning her cousin's head. Luke threw Kori another look like the one he'd given her at lunch, anger glinting in his eyes. Stiles nodded and waved at her before running at the goal and missing his shot by several feet.

"And who was that?" Allison asked curiously.

Kori sighed, disappointed for her cousin. "My cousin, Stiles. He's not really very good but he keeps trying so that's got to count for something. I'm going to go down and get some shots, we'll see if his friend Scott has any better luck. See you guys."

Kori stood behind the bench, taking some general shots for the boys on the field lined up getting ready to show off what they did or didn't have. She zoomed in on Stiles, looking like he was about to pass out. Kori giggled softly to herself as she watched the rest of the guys through the view finder. Scott was up next; his first attempt wasn't the greatest in fact it was pretty terrible. He got blocked and taken out in seconds. The next on wasn't too much better, he managed to hold his ground but still didn't make his shot. Kori moved to kneel beside the bench, getting a different angle of the practice. She could tell Scott was getting frustrated and hoped that he didn't end up with an asthma attack with all the energy he was putting into the tryouts. Scott went again, moving faster and reacting quicker. One of the guys went to block him and Scott jumped up, flipping over him landing with ease behind him and scoring a goal.

Kori shot up from her crouched position as the hairs on the back of her neck stood up.

 _Not possible._

There was no way that Scott should have been able to do that, not after all the running he had done already. The way he moved and reacted was beyond his skills and capability, no matter how hard he had worked over the break. Stiles cheered on his friend from the bench, where he now sat, and the coach applauded him hoping to motivate the rest of his team.

 _Something isn't right._

Kori caught up with Stiles and Scott as the came out of the locker room and headed for the Jeep. She wanted to try and talk to Scott about his _performance_ on the field but the two were in a hurry to go searching in the woods again. She expressed her concerns again, warning them that they should let the police do their job and not get involved but the warning fell on deaf ears as they climbed into the haggard blue Jeep.

Kori stood outside the schools main entrance waiting for Lydia, watching as the after school busses got loaded up with players and various club members. She caught a glimpse of a black car parked at the far edge of the lot between the busses. She squinted her eyes to try and get a better look but her attention was pulled away upon Lydia's arrival.

"You keep ditching me Kori, I'm starting to think you're mad at me or something. And poor Allison is starting to think you don't like her. You're giving us a complex."

Kori froze up again, her eyes landing on Allison standing beside her friend. "That is not what's happening, I swear I'm not some weird transfer kid who clings to the first people that talk to her. You looked busy, you're what? On year book or something? Photographer obviously, I used to play with photography a little but I wasn't very good."

"Oh, well our little Kori here is _very_ good. She had her own show last spring here at the school, there was a _huge_ turnout. She's on the newspaper, she's the photo editor and the lead photographer." Lydia gushed. "I like to think that I'm the one who helped push her into it, she didn't do much for the school until last year. I was the one who helped her get onto the paper, the lead and editor thing though is something I can't take credit for. Well… _technically_ I can."

"Yes Lydia, you are the one and only reason for any success I will ever have in my life and career."

"Hold on ladies." Lydia stared out toward the car Kori had been trying to see earlier. "Who. Is. _That_?" She asked as the busses pulled away, clearing the view. "If he isn't just the sexiest thing walking on two leg I've _ever_ seen."

Kori turned her attention back to the mystery car she saw earlier, checking out who had caught Lydia's eye. Leaning against the car that Kori could now tell was a Camaro, was a man with dark hair and broad shoulders, a wearing a black leather jacket. A smile spread across her face when her eyes met his, a smile of his own gracing his lips.

"Mm, nice smile too." Lydia wiggled her finger at him in a flirtatious wave. Kori never bothered to tell her the smile wasn't directed at her, she'd figure it out.

"Oh. My. _God_!" Kori's sudden vocal burst had Lydia whipping her head in her direction as she took off down the stairs running to the mystery man. "Derek!" She yelled, flying over to him. He laughed as she came toward him. "Derek! I can't believe you're home!" Kori jumped up, throwing her arms around his neck.

Derek stumbled back a step at the sudden force. He wrapped his arms around her squeezing her in a tight hug, lifting her off the ground a couple inches and spinning her. "It's good to see you kid, been way too long." Derek closed his eyes smiling, feeling calm and content for the first time in a while despite what had brought him home.

"Well that's _your_ fault, isn't it?" Kori grinned, hugging Derek back.

"Yeah, yeah." He replied, setting her down as he pulled away from their embrace. "Hey," Derek nodded over to the girl watching them from the stairs of the high school. "What's with the look?"

Kori turned to see a smiling Allison where she left her and a not so thrilled Lydia, who's pride and ego had been hurt some upon seeing her mystery man embracing someone that was not her. Turning back around to face Derek, Kori rolled her eyes and shook her head. "The one shooting us that judgmental 'how could he have not been looking at me' look is Lydia. She's…" Kori trailed off, searching for the right words to describe Lydia.

"Full of herself?"

"Confident in her beauty." Kori corrected with a smirk.

Derek rolled his eyes and nodded his head. "Yeah, ok. And the other one?"

Kori froze, knowing if she told him she was an Argent his reaction would be anything but good. "Oh, um. Allison, she's new here. So, hey," she started, quick to change the subject. "Since you're here, wanna give me a ride? Mine left to go play secret agent."

Derek sensed the change in mood with Kori, he tilted his head giving her a questioning look. He thought about pushing, but thought better of it. There was something up but here and now wasn't the time to press the issue, he'd have to pick the right time for that later.

For now, he would just take her home.


	6. 5: Derek

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Teen Wolf. (duh)**

 **Chapter 5- Derek**

Derek sensed Kori's hesitation when he asked about her friends.

 _Something is up there._

She jumped at the chance to change the topic and tried to distract him. He just raised an eyebrow at her before nodding at her request.

"Yeah, okay." He reached behind him, grabbing the handle of the passenger door. He glanced up at the two friends Kori was about to leave in front of the school, the one smiling kindly while the other seemed to be glaring at Kori. "Hop it."

He opened the door for her to climb in, closing is as she settled in her seat. He walked around the front of the car, opening his own door. He looked back to the girls at the stairs once more over the roof of his car, smirking at their hushed conversation. He gave them a wink and got behind the wheel, closing his door as he got in in one smooth motion.

"So, home then?" Derek asked, glancing to Kori as he pulled away from the school.

"Actually, I think we need to go to the reservation."

Derek stiffened. "Why?" He asked tightly.

"I think you know why, Derek." Kori said sadly, fidgeting with the braided leather bracelet on her left wrist. "I've got a bad feeling, and no offense because I love that you're here, but you actually _being_ here is telling me that my feeling is right." Kori noticed Derek opening his mouth to say something, she just shook her head. "No, please. Don't say it. Not yet. I already know, I just…I can't hear it yet. Let me try to be content and naïve for a little while longer, Derek. I haven't seen you in like four years. All I want from you on my birthday is to just not say the words yet. Please."

Derek looked over at Kori, noticing the tears building in her eyes. He nodded, reaching out to take her hand in his, halting her fidgeting. With an instinct to calm her and comfort her seemingly kicking in, he laced their fingers together without a second thought, squeezing lightly and rubbing his thumb on the back of her hand.

"Whatever you want birthday girl."

Derek felt her nerves ease, he could still sense that she was sad but she was relaxing a little and the tears seems to disappear for now. They drove to the reservation in a content silence, the purr of the Camaro the only sound in the car. Derek went to disentangle their hands but stopped when he felt Kori squeeze his in a silent protest. He smirked and chuckled softly.

"What? It's helping."

"I didn't say anything." Kori glared at him quick before looking back out the window, their hands still connected.

Derek cut through an old dirt road, taking them straight to his childhood home. They pulled up and sat in the car for a few minutes, looking at what was left of the once grand house. Kori's hand tightened on Derek's, he glanced at her to check that she was ok. It was a reflex he had since he was young, always looking back and checking on Kori.

 _Some things never change._

"I'm ok, just…I haven't been back her since, you know."

Derek nodded. "I wasn't really thinking, I just kind of came here, old habit I guess."

Kori looked at him with a soft smile, finally releasing his hand before getting out of the car slowly, Derek following soon after. He stayed by the car, watching as she approached the wreckage of a home they both once knew so well.

 _And some things do._

She had changed a lot in the four years since he'd last seen her. Her hair, once frizzy and out of control, now fell down her back in soft milk chocolatey brown waves. She'd grown several inches, reaching about 5'6", he'd guess. There was a swagger in her walk, a sway in her hips that was not there before. And her active nature showed in her build; slender yet toned.

 _Definitely not a kid._ He thought to himself before shaking his head, mentally scolding himself for analyzing her so intently.

"So, tell me about this feeling you had." He called to her as she moved toward the left side of the house.

"Well," She started, turning back to walk toward him with her hands in her pockets. "I was having lunch with my cousin, Stiles and his friend, Scott. They were out here last night; the police had gotten a call and Stiles couldn't help himself. They found-they found someone. Half of someone." Derek saw the moisture rising back in her eyes. He stepped forward, closing the distance between them and pulling her into a hug. Kori wrapped her arms around his torso, tears not yet falling but well on their way. "Stiles and Scott were out looking for…"

"It's ok." Derek whispered, saving her from having to finish her sentence. "So, why did you need to come out here?" He asked softly, unsure why she seemed to want to push herself into the thing she was trying to avoid.

Kori sighed, pulling away from Derek's comforting hold. "When Scott said he found…Stiles wanted to come back out here, of course. Scott lost his inhaler anyways so he had to come back out to find it."

"So, you wanted to…what?"

"Make sure they didn't find anything."

Derek nodded. "They won't." Kori looked at Derek with a raised eyebrow. "I took care of it. I'm _taking_ care of it."

"Derek…" He could see that she was losing her strength to keep it together.

He shook his head. "You told me not to say it, I'm not going to say anything." Derek sighed, running his hand through his hair. "Let's go find your idiot cousin and his idiot friend."


	7. 6: Kori

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Wolf characters, blah, blah, blah; you get it**

* * *

 **Chapter 6- Kori**

Kori and Derek hiked through the woods, Kori telling Derek about Scotts unbelievable tryout as they went.

"Der, he did things he _shouldn't_ be able to do."

Derek shrugged, hoping to ease her worry. "Maybe he just practiced hard over the summer, got a coach, private trainer, something. I'm sure there's nothing there, you're over thinking it."

"He has _asthma_ Derek, and didn't have his inhaler all day. There is no way that he could have done the things he did. For him it would be physically impossible, _I_ would barely be able to move the way he did out there"

"Maybe, let's just worry about one thing at a time here Kor."

"Derek, do you know something?"

"Shhh." Derek halted; grabbing Kori's wrist as she moved passed him. "Hold on. You hear that?" Kori stopped, stepping back to Derek's side. "They're over there." Derek pointed off in the distance to their right. "Stay here and out of sight."

"What? Why?"

"I just think it'll be better to keep you as unconnected with everything as possible."

Kori crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes. "Oh, and pulling up outside my school in your modern retro muscle car is supposed to keep me unconnected?"

"Shh, I'll be right back."

"Be _nice_ Derek Hale, he _is_ my cousin."

Derek smirked at her over his shoulder and winked as he walked off. Kori followed behind at a safe distance, staying hidden behind the trees. She stopped and crouched down when Stiles and Scott came into view, the pair looking down completely unaware to Derek's presence in front of them. Kori smiled, holding back laughter seeing his annoyance.

"What are you doing here? This is private property."

Stiles and Scott snapped to attention, looking surprised to see Derek.

"Uh," Stiles stammered. "Sorry man, we didn't know."

"Yeah, we were just looking for something." Derek rolled his eyes, tossing something at Scott.

 _He found Scott's inhaler?_ Kori thought to herself.

"Uhm, thanks. Alright, come on I gotta go to work."

Derek shook his head and turned to walk away.

"Dude that was Derek Hale! You remember, right? He's only like a few years older than us."

Scott gave Stiles a confused look. "Remember what?"

"His family," Stiles went on to explain. "They all burned to death in a fire a few years ago. Kori's mom too." Stiles said sadly.

"Kori knows that guy?" Scott asked surprised.

Stiles shrugged. "I'm not sure, I don't think so, I mean not well at least. I think her mom worked with someone in Derek's family, his mom or something."

"So she was there too and got caught in the fire?"

Stiles nodded. "And her dad got into an accident a few months later."

"Whoa, poor Kori."

"Yeah, it was a sucky year; he and my mom were really close so it hit her pretty hard. Then she just got…worse."

Scott gave Stiles a pat on the back. "Come on, I'm going to be late for work."

Stiles and Scott walked back in the opposite direction Derek had left, going back to where Stiles had parked the Jeep.

Kori had sunk to the ground when Stiles gave Scott some background on Derek; everything that happened in those few months began to replay in her mind. She sat on the ground, back press against a tree with tears pouring silently from her eyes. She rested her elbows on her knees which she had pulled up to her chest. Her hands were clenched in her hair as she tried to breathe slowly to calm herself. Kori could feel her heart beating out of control as images passed behind her tightly shut eyes. She saw the flames through the trees, felt the heat, the lights from the fire trucks and police cars. Her uncle grabbing her as she ran toward the burning house. Rain pouring out the window. Her uncle knocking on her door just a few months later, his face distraught. Everything passing through her mind in a rush like a flip book or a slide show of the worst moments in her like on fast forward. So long she had worked to keep those images hidden, keeping them from sight. She fought like hell to be ok, to move forward. Now here she was, breaking.

She jumped, suppressing a yelp, when a pair of strong hands came to rest on her shoulders.

"Kori?" Derek's husky, worried, voice broke through the mental slideshow. She gasped upon seeing him, his face looking pained. "Oh, Kor." He spoke softly, bringing a hand to her cheek to wipe away her tears with his thumb.

"It's Laura…I know it is." Her voice was tiny; she knew she sounded anything but strong and confident.

"Kori-"

"Derek," She met his hazel green eyes through a curtain of tears. "Just…it's fine, just say it; can't make me feel any worse in this moment."

He signed, kneeling in front of her. "It was Laura. I found her early this morning when I got here."

"God. I knew it. Scott and Stiles talking, you coming here. Just…" Kori choked back her sobs. "I had a feeling, Derek I'm so sorry."

Kori went to bury her face in her hands but Derek pulled her to him, holding her tight to his chest. The move put them both slightly off balance; Derek fell back into a sitting position which pulled Kori partially into his lap. He wrapped an arm around her as she curled into him, tears falling freely. His other hand rested on her head as he gently stroked her hair in an effort to sooth her.

"Everyone's gone. There's no one left…I have no one left." Kori said after a few minutes of silence.

"You still have me Kori, I'm still here." Kori stiffened in Derek's arms. "I'm not leaving this time, I promise. I won't leave you again"


	8. 7: Derek

**AN: Hey all! Wanted to thank you, those of you who have, for the reviews! And thank you to anyone who's begun following the story! Just a reminder, it's not going to reflect much yet but, in another chapter or two you see that the events of the first season are not perfectly aligned. Call is and AU of sorts, the basics will be there, but I won't follow to the letter on how things happen. I have a certain idea in mind for the party at Jacksons so that will play out differently. I just wanted to give a reminder, since that will be coming up soon.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Wolf characters**

* * *

 **Chapter 7- Derek**

Without question, Derek positioned himself so that he could stand, pulling Kori up with his in his arms.

"Der, I can walk." She said, sounding exhausted, like her leg wouldn't be able to hold despite what she said.

He wasn't exactly sure how long they sat on the ground, him holding her while she cried until she had nothing left, but it was beginning to get dark now. The sun had started going down and the lighting was giving everything that amber hue just before the darkness crept up. It had been well over an hour that they sat on the forest floor.

"It's ok," He said, lifting her up in his arms with ease. "I've got you."

Kori put her arms around Derek's neck as he carried her bridal style through the woods, back to his parked car at his old home. The walk wasn't a long one, 15 minutes maybe, but with the gentle rocking as Derek moved along with the natural sounds of the woods Kori started to fall into a light sleep. Derek heard her heart beating steadily, paired with her light breathing. She was more tired than he'd expected, but he'd seen her fighting the grief the minute they got into his car. One can only hold back for so long before they give in to such a heavy weighing emotion.

Walking up to his car, he jostled her gently. "Hey," he said softly. "Help me out here kid."

Kori groaned quietly, blindly reaching her hand down behind her without picking her head off Derek's chest. He smirked at her lazy attempt to open the door, rolling his eyes when her reach was too short. He bent his knees, bringing her hand closer to the handle of the passenger door. When Kori felt the handle, she grasped it and pulled. Derek heard the click of the releasing lock and stepped back to allow Kori to open the door. He dipped down, gently setting her in the seat. Kori's eyes opened slowly upon feeling Derek release her.

"Sorry." She said faintly.

Derek crouched down, looking up at her. "For what?"

Kori shrugged, turning her head to look away from him. "For…I don't know. Falling apart, crying for like an hour. For being a bother; being someone you think you have to take care of. She was _your_ sister, not mine."

"Kori," Derek sighed in frustration. "You're not a bother, a pain in the ass sometime," He said with a smirk" "But not a bother. And Laura, she was just as much of a sister to you as she was to me. We've known each other for most of our lives; we've all been through a lot together. There was never a time where you _weren't_ a part of our family, Kori. It was never about just the pack, you will _always_ be family." Derek reached up, turning Kori's head by gently guiding her chin so he could look her into her green eyes. "You should know by now that blood isn't the only thing that makes a family."

Kori smiled softly. "This has been some birthday."

Derek nodded. "Yeah. You've had better. You getting hungry? Want to grab something to eat?"

"Not tonight, I kind of just want to go home if that's ok."

Derek smiled. "Of course, I'll take you home."

"Drop me off down the street? I mean if we're trying to be discreet."

"You know I don't mean anything by that right? Like, that I don't want to be seen with you?"

Kori rolled her eyes. "I know, I get what you mean. It's better to keeps our history as hidden right now as we can, we don't know what's happened here."

Derek nodded. "Ok, good. I'll drop you off down the street from your house then." Derek went to stand up, but paused for a moment in the open door. Getting up, he leaned inside the car, kissing Kori's forehead. "You know everything is going to be okay, right? _We're_ going to be okay."

Kori tried to give Derek a reassuring smile, trying to convey that she was okay. "Yeah, we'll be fine."

Derek closed her door, moving around his car to take his seat behind the wheel. The drive back into town to the Stilinski home was a quiet one. Kori kept her head turned out the window and her hand in her lap, pressed between her legs.

Derek drove with one hand on the steering wheel, the other resting lazily on the gear shift. He felt the urge to take her hand in his again, he could feel the nerves in his hand crying out for the contact. He shook off the thought, telling himself that he just wanted to know that she was ok.

As agreed, Derek pulled over at the end of the street Kori's house was on. "You gonna to be okay?" Kori nodded in response. "You know all you need to do is call me, if you need anything."

"I know Derek, don't worry about me. Try to take care of yourself, just this once."

Derek smiled, shaking his head. "Yeah, I'll do that."

"Lair. When will I see you again?"

He shrugged, glancing at her. "Dinner tomorrow?"

Kori's smile brightened, a sign that Derek was succeeding in his self-proclaimed duty of watching out for her. "Yeah, I have to shoot the game-shit. I can't tomorrow."

"No?"

"Our first game is tomorrow, there's a party at my friends, well sort of friend I guess except I kind of can't stand him. I already told Lydia I'd go and I honestly can't deal with her shit if I bail."

"Lydia is…?"

"The red head with the envious glare earlier."

"Right. No offense, but she doesn't seem like the type you'd hang out with."

Kori shrugged. "She's not so bad, definitely someone you'd want in your corner if shit went down. She can be brutal."

"What about that other girl? Alison?" Derek raised an eyebrow at her, waiting to see if she'd reveal more information. Kori only nodded, reaching for the door handle; he decided again not to press the issue but made a mental note to bring it up later. "Wait, before you go I have your actual present."

"Derek, your car? Oh no, I just couldn't."

"Ha, nice try but no. Here." He pulled a box from the back seat and passed it over to her. "I didn't get a chance to wrap it. Sorry."

"You didn't have to get me anything Der, just buy me dinner in a couple nights."

"Oh, so we settled on a date? You've been able to find time for your oldest friend in your _busy_ schedule?"

"Shut up. I can't do tomorrow but I'm good for the night after, so yeah. Date settled."

"You're getting bossy in your old age, kid."

Kori roller her eyes. "Whatever, you're the one who's almost _30_."

"Hey," Derek pointed a finger at her. "22 is _hardly_ almost 30."

"It's closer than I am to 30." Kori mumbled.

"Whatever, just open your present brat."

She rolled her eyes, opening the box in her lap. "Derek." She looked down into the box, reaching in and pulling out a new telephoto lens. "Seriously?"

"It's nothing crazy, just a basic one. Like a starter lens. Should help you get some good shots at that game tomorrow."

Kori reached over, wrapping her arms around Derek and pulling him into a hug. "This is perfect, thank you."

"Of course, anything to keep you going down this road." Derek pulled back, smiling at her. "You know I'm your biggest fan; you've got some real talent."

Kori smiled, feeling her cheeks heat up under his gaze. "Yeah, yeah. I better get going before my uncle calls in a search party. See you later Derek. And thank you, really."

Derek nodded. "Anytime. See you later."

Kori waved, closing the door and started walking down the road to her house.

Derek could see the front of the house from where he'd pulled up; he sat there until he saw that Kori was safely inside before pulling away.

He felt the first wave of exhaustion hit him as he drove away from Kori's house, it came on suddenly and almost made him pull over. Between not sleeping the night before, driving 9 hours straight, and finding Laura, Derek had nothing left. With Kori around, it gave him something to focus on, he could push his exhaustion back, even though he didn't recall even feeling so tired before dropping her off. But now, alone in his car, he wouldn't be surprised if he fell asleep behind the wheel.

Getting back to his half-burned house, Derek shed himself of his jacket, hanging it on the banister of the stairs as he walked inside. He stood at the bottom of them, looking around at the wreckage that was once his home. Black char covered every wall, wall paper peeling away from the water and smoke damage. Glass coated the floor where windows had been busted out. It was a mess, one he couldn't think about cleaning. Carefully, Derek ascended the stairs, moving up to his old room to find his bed still intact. There was less damage upstairs, the fire had only reached a small part of it. Here was where he'd hide out, until something else came along, something less broken.

He was attempting to keep a low profile, knowing his sudden appearance would cause people to talk, especially when they IDed Laura. Thankfully he was able to find her and burry her before the police could find the rest of her, but they will still get and ID off what they had eventually. It had made him physically ill finding her ripped in half, eyes still opened. He was the last Hale left, the only surviving member of such an influential family. His Uncle Peter was alive, technically, but the damage caused by the fire had put him in a catatonic state. His eyes were open, but he was completely unresponsive and there was no sign of him getting better, he hadn't even healed really despite being a werewolf.

Derek dropped down onto his dusty old bed with a heavy sigh, willing the exhaustion to take hold of him and carry him off into unconsciousness. But his mind drifted to Kori.

He worried about her, she'd had a rough time losing her parents and Laura was instrumental in helping her control something only his mother knew of. Kori was unique, being half wolf and half human. It was something unheard of really, but Talia Hale somehow had knowledge of half breeds. Begin so young, there were few issues with Kori and he ability to control the shift, but she had a couple moment where she began to shift and couldn't pull herself back. The rules for her were different, she wasn't affected by the moon in the same way others were but over powering emotions and anxiety would cause her to shift. Talia had helped her learn to control her emotions. There wasn't a lot of time for her to learn much about herself and how to control the shift when she felt it coming, the fire happened and took Talia and her mother. She was okay for a while, managing her emotions and keeping Laura and Derek both around to help her. They all leaned on each other in the months after the fire, all of them losing so much in one night.

Then Kori's father had his accident just six months after the fire; driving home one night in a storm, his car hydroplaned, and he lost control. Kori had taken off, disappearing for three days without a trace. Derek and Laura found her in the desert, hiding in a rock formation a few hundred miles away. As the Alpha, Laura could give her strength and help her learn to control the wolf inside her. She guided her through everything she could, having watched her own mother several times she became an adept teacher. Derek was her back up, he had a way of calming Kori in a way Laura couldn't. If she was falling over the edge, inches from losing it, Derek could somehow pull her back just by grabbing her hand between his and getting her to look into his eyes. He would tell her to breath. Tell her that she was okay. And after a couple minutes she would be back.

With Laura now gone, Derek didn't know if he could help Kori stay in control like he had before. Laura was always around when he had calmed her, having their Alpha there had to have been part of why he could help her. She was their strength, their anchor, a tether that connected them all. Derek wasn't an Alpha, he was barely a beta now without Laura.

He stared at his right hand, holding it up in front of his face. It still seemed to tingle, a phantom touch that was now several hours old. It was an odd sensation, one he didn't recall ever feeling before. He remembered the feeling of Kori's slender fingers laced with his, feeling the tension leaving her. He felt more at ease himself in that moment, and found himself relieved when she wouldn't let him take his hand back.

Finally, after an hour of laying in silence, sleep took hold of Derek's mind, pulling him in with thoughts of Kori fading into dreams.


	9. 8: Kori

**AN: I want to thank you all for following and reading this story, thank you for the reviews too. I'm really liking working with Kori in this story, she might be my favorite OC I've written. In the next coming chapters, you'll start to see where I am taking liberties with the events in the show, I'll be rewriting some (by some I probably mean most because it'll end up being a snowball effect I can see it already, change on little thing and it just keeps going) of the things that happened to better fit the story, if it bothers you I apologize. But just think of it as a reboot or another look into the world of Teen Wolf, that's how I see Shadowhunter and the Mortal Instruments books. They are way too different but so different where I'm actually okay with how different they are…If that makes any sense at all…Sorry, rambling.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Teen Wolf.**

* * *

 **Chapter 8- Kori**

The last thing Kori wanted to do was play upbeat "Birthday Girl", but she wasn't left with many options when she got home. She hadn't even wanted to get out of the car, removing herself from Derek's presence. She felt physically exhausted and it took a great deal of effort to pull herself from the Camaro. As she walked to her house, where she knew uncle and cousin would be waiting with dinner, she had to concentrate on keeping her breathing calm and her heart beat steady. With each step she took away from Derek, she felt the anxiety building and dread filling within her. There was something about him that had always seemed to settle her when she felt out of control or when she was on the verge of a panic attack, which would usually turn into her shifting if she couldn't get herself back down. Kori knew though, that if Derek heard even the slightest out of place beat he'd be at her side with worry filled eyes and they had both agreed to stay distant publicly for now.

Walking into the house did not ease Kori's creeping anxiety, she felt trapped in there. She closed her eyes, leaning against the front door, and took a deep breath to calm herself.

"Kori? Is that you?" Her Uncle Noah emerged from the kitchen with a concerned look. "Hey sweetie, we expected you a couple hours ago."

"Right, sorry." Stiles appeared from behind his father upon hearing Kori's voice. "I got caught up after school, I meant to call."

"It's fine, just try not to stay out too late. There was a body found in the woods last night and we're still trying to figure out what happened out there. So, until we can get a handle on the situation, I don't want either of you out past 9."

Kori's felt a tightening in her chest at the mention of Laura. "Sure. No problem Uncle Noah." She said with it tight smile, moving away from the door and toward her room.

"Hey, aren't you going to eat? It's your favorite; roasted chicken and red skin potatoes. Yearly tradition." He Uncle Noah smiled warmly at her.

"Yeah, dad slaved away the last few hours."

"I'm a little beat, I was hoping to crash early."

Stiles made a face. "But we do this every year on your birthday. You were in bed all day last year and we _still_ all sat and ate dinner."

"No, Stiles it's ok. If she's tired she should go get some rest."

"But…" Stiles pouted. "Tradition."

Kori's shoulders slumped, she hadn't realized that Stiles looked forward to the birthday dinners they had each year. "Let me just go change, give me a couple minutes, ok?" She said with a forced smile.

Stiles face lit up. "I'll set the table."

"Kori, really. It's not a big deal."

"He's right, it's tradition. Be right back."

Finally, inside the sanctuary of her room, Kori closed her door with a heavy sigh. She stood there with her back against the door, her eyes squeezed shut. Kori refused to let herself cry again, she'd just done too much of that in the last few hours. How would she even explain to her uncle and cousin why her eyes were red and puffy if she started to cry again. Her uncle hadn't known she was seeing Laura while she was in town, didn't know that she was helping her find who killed and marked that deer. The thought of Laura, half of her, being found while the other half was discovered by some kid in high school made her sick. And the fact that Stiles _wanted_ to find her made her angry, but he didn't know who she was or what she meant to Kori. He was just some curious kid, wanting to play detective; he was trying to make things easier for his dad, she guessed.

Kori reached in her pocket, pulling out her phone and unlocking it. Her fingers hovered over Derek's name.

 _He'd be here in seconds, he wouldn't even ask why I was asking him to come back. He would just come. He couldn't have gone far, it's only been a few minutes._ Kori thought.

She remembered how anxious she felt in the car, driving to the reservation. Derek knew too; whether it radiated of her and he could feel it, or the smell of anxiety had filled the car she wasn't sure. But he'd reached out to her, taking her hand in his and she felt calmer the second his skin touched hers. And again, when she began to fall apart on the forest floor, Derek was there pulling her into his arms. He made it better, made the sorrow fade into the background where she could handle it more easily. He fixed her, somehow him being there helped. Just like it did when she was a kid, trying to learn how to control her shift after losing her parents. It had to be a pack thing, a member of the pack could sometimes provide comfort for another in distress.

Kori closed her eyes, tightening the grip on her phone. With a sigh and a shake of her head, she tossed her phone on the bed. She changed quick, into a pair of sweatpants and a tank top with a flannel shirt thrown over it. She stepped out of her room, heading down the hall into the dining room where Stiles and her uncle were sitting at the dining table, waiting for her. She smiled softly, taking her seat opposite to Stiles.

Kori said little throughout dinner, answering or commenting only when something was directed at her. Most of the conversation was her uncle lecturing Stiles about sticking his nose where it didn't belong.

"Kori, you okay? You seem a little…distracted." Stiles asked, her lack of engagement not going unnoticed.

"Hm? Oh, I'm fine." She told him with a strain in her voice. "Just thinking about layouts and stuff. That's all."

Stiles gave her a look, not believing her words but nodded and let the subject drop.

They finished up dinner, Stiles and Kori cleared everything, helping each other do the dishes. When they were finally finished, Kori said her goodnights and hid away in her room. She collapsed on her bed before the door even clicked shut.

She lay there, staring at the ceiling, trying to concentrate on her breathing, trying to keep her mind on nothing but inhaling and exhaling. For a moment she was in control, she could make herself push back the events of the day, push aside the things she'd learned. Then her eyes began to burn, imagines flashing in her mind again. Laura chasing her and Derek through the halls of their house; Laura pushing her on the rope swing in the back yard; running through the woods with the entire pack, Laura leading them and Derek not far away.

Laura was gone.

There'd be no funeral.

No formal burial.

No closure.

She was just… _gone_.

Kori turned onto her side, her back to the door and curled up.

For the first time in years, Kori cried herself to sleep.


	10. 9: Kori

**AN: I know I had some texting back and forth between Derek and Kori in like the first chapter, I sort of changed the format of how to represent it. It's very possible down the line I will forget I did this, so don't hold it against me. I made the texting conversation all bold with Kori's response also in italics.**

 **Thank you again, to all those who have taken the time to review or just make a general comment! And thank you to everyone following this story! I appreciate you! You are an amazing human being!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Teen Wolf.**

* * *

 **Chapter 9- Kori**

Kori woke up the next day with a pounding headache and a dry throat. She was up about a half hour before her alarm was set to go off to get her up and ready for school. Rolling onto her back, she just stared up at the ceiling, listening to her uncle moving about the house and Stiles still snoring down the hall.

An alert sounded from her phone, she picked it up to find a message from Derek.

 **Can you get out of school this morning?** The gray bubble asked.

 _ **y?**_ Kori responded back.

 **Are you okay?**

 _ **wht? yea, y?**_

 **You're not normally up yet, and when you are you call instead of text...and you don't usually respond like that.**

 _ **like wht?**_

 **Shorthand.**

Kori rolled her eyes; mornings were never her thing, if he was up and messaged her she would call him because thinking about the letters she had to use to make up proper words and sentences was too much in the morning. Shorthand texting always drove her insane; it had taken her years to break Derek of the habit. She never understood why people had to be so lazy when communicating with one another, it was already lazy in her mind to be texting why go a step further and not speak actual English.

She found herself not wanting to speak or put real effort into a text message this morning, she knew she probably sounded terrible and she was still too tired to even care. She ignored Derek's analysis, thinking how odd it was that he knew there was something off just by how she responded to him in the morning, and responded to his initial question.

 _ **y do I need 2 get out of school**_

 **I thought we would say goodbye to Laura.** Her heart jumped up into her throat and her eyes began to burn again. **I can do it alone, if it's too much. I just didn't want to do something without telling you.**

Kori's fingers hovered over the touch screen keyboard.

 _ **no**_ She sent back.

 **?**

 _ **ill b there. whr shld i meet u**_

 **The house; I think she'd want to be with the others.**

Kori nodded, forgetting for a moment that he couldn't actually see her. _**ok. b thr by 8**_

Kori left her phone on the bed and began getting ready. She started with a long, hot shower, thanks to the extra time she now had. She went through the morning like normal, throwing on a pair of jeans and a light sweatshirt, pulling her hair back in a ponytail. She sat at the table with her uncle, eating a bowl of cereal while Stiles began to stir and get himself ready for the day.

"Good luck to night, first game right?" Kori's uncle said to Stiles as they grabbed their bags to leave.

"Well, yeah but I'm not actually _playing_."

"So that mean we have a chance." Kori said with a grin.

"Ha, ha. Very funny, did you still _need_ a ride? Cause I think you told me you were good, right?"

Kori rolled her eyes, pushing Stiles out the door.

They drove down their street, turning at an intersection making their way to the school.

"Hey, pull over." Kori instructed.

"What?"

"Pull. Over."

"You sick or something?" Stiles asked, glancing at his cousin with concern.

"No, just pull over. Here's good." Stiles pulled the Jeep over to the side of the road near a trail leading into the woods. "Thanks, I'll see you later."

"Wait, what are you doing? You're skipping?! It's like the second day!"

"Not the _whole_ day, at least most likely not the whole day. There's something I have to do, I'm working on a project. I'll see you later, okay."

"But-" Stiles began to protest.

"Go to school Stiles!" Kori yelled over her shoulder as she disappeared down the trail.

She ducked out of sight, hanging back to make sure Stiles didn't decide to follow her. When she heard the Jeep pull away, she continued down the trail.

The hike was longer than she'd remembered from when she was a kid, that or she was just moving more slowly that she normally would. She really couldn't tell. After about twenty minutes of walking, getting turned around twice, Kori was about to give up and call Derek to have him come find her. She came to the head of the trail which lead her right to the backside of the charred house. She stood there for a moment, taking in the rear view that she'd missed the day before.

"Hey." Derek came from around the front of the house, walking around a fresh pile of dirt Kori hadn't noticed when walking up. "I thought I heard you coming up." He said solemnly. Kori just nodded, her eyes on the fresh patch of turned up dirt. "You ready?" She made no movement or response in anyway. Derek glanced behind him, seeing where her focus was. He reached out and took her hand, squeezing it in his. Her jade green eyes finally met his. He gave her a soft smile. "It's ok, come on."

Derek led Kori over to the side of the house where she knew Laura was now buried. "I should have brought flowers." She said sadly.

The two of them stood at the perimeter of the filled in hole, neither saying a word for several minutes.

Derek was the first to break the silence. "You remember that time Laura chased me around and through the house with the baseball bat? You went running to her crying about something, I think you were like 10."

"I was _6_ and you just told me that not only was I not a "real werewolf" but that _Santa_ wasn't real! I think that got me more than the werewolf comment."

Derek laughed next to Kori. "Oh yeah! But you had just snuck up on me talking to that Sarah girl and told her I was in love with her. You had it coming!"

"You were so _mad_! Laura instantly took my side, said you should've known better." Kori grinned up at Derek, whose arm now hung around her shoulder.

"Because she liked you more than me, her own brother. You and Cora could get Laura to turn against me in seconds with your cute innocent looking faces. I'm the only one who knew how much of a terror the two of you were, especially together."

The two of them laughed together for a moment before falling silent again. Derek sighed, his arm tightening around Kori. She leaned farther into his hold, putting an arm around his waist.

"I'm going to miss her." Derek said softly.

"I already do."

Derek pulled her closer, kissing the top of her head. "I know."

Kori wrapped both arms around Derek in a tight hug, his arms encircling her with her cheek against his chest.

Kori stood hugging Derek with tear filled eyes as she said a silent goodbye to the closest thing to a sister she had.


	11. 10: Kori

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Teen Wolf.**

* * *

 **Chapter 10- Kori**

Kori sat on the hood of Derek's car while he finished up the burial of his sister. She sat and watched him as he carefully buried a length of rope that was infused and attached to a root of Wolfsbane. Kori couldn't help but think about how the same process would have been used when burring his mother had she not been reduced to ash in the fire. This was a specific tradition, used only for those who could turn completely into a wolf form. It was how they were put to rest, in their most freeing and natural form.

Derek finished, lingering near his sister for another moment before going to join Kori by his car.

"You okay?" She asked, nudging him with her foot.

He shrugged, leaning against the nose of the car. "Not really. Not knowing what happened makes it worse."

"You don't have any ideas?"

"Not really. I mean, hunters have been known to slice someone in half, but I don't know. Did she tell you why she had come back?"

Kori shrugged. "Something about a dead deer, she wouldn't say much about it when I had asked her. She just told me not to worry about it."

"So, there was something going on that she wanted to keep you out of, to protect you from." Derek said thoughtfully.

"There's been nothing though, the only body to turn up in the last five months was Laura. What could she have stumbled on?"

"I don't know, but I don't think this was just some random attack. I'll poke around, see what I can find out."

Kori slide off the hood, stepping in front of Derek. "You're not going to do anything on your own."

He shook his head, knowing what she was implying. "No Kori, you're not getting more involved than you already are. If you hear something tell me but anything else is off the table. I don't know if this is hunters, a lone omega looking to make waves, another pack claiming territory. I don't know how dangerous this is yet."

"Exactly Derek, you can't go running at this blind and alone. If something happens to you too I-"

Derek put his hand on Kori's arms, looking down into her eyes. " _Nothing_ is going to happen to me Kori."

"You don't know that! What if this is some new Alpha showing his muscles, looking to wipe out the rest of the Hale's?"

"I _need_ to know the you're safe right now Kor. _Please_ , just for right now, let me handle this. As soon as I know anything I'll let you know, keep you in the loop the whole time but I _can't_ let you get into this. It could have just been hunters passing through, I don't know."

"Um, about that." Kori hesitated. _Now's as good a time as any I guess._

Derek straightened, raising an eyebrow. "What?"

"You know that friend…Alison?"

"Yeah…" Derek said cautiously.

"Well…don't freak out but…she _might_ be an Argent."

" _What_!? _Might_ be? What do you mean she _might be_?! Kori-"

"I said _don't_ freak out!"

"You're friends with an _Argent_ and I'm supposed to be okay with that?! Kori if she knows about you, you know you're _dead_ , right? Their _code_ won't apply. You're an unfamiliar factor, too unpredictable."

"I know, I know! I get it, but I don't think she has any clue about werewolves."

"But if she does-"

"Derek, I know." Derek pulled Kori to him, wrapping his arms tightly around her. "I'll be careful."

"I don't like it." He mumbled.

"Yeah, well I don't like that you're going off after the unknown, so I guess we're even."

Derek pulled back, bringing his hands up to cup her face. "It's not the same thing Kori. You know that. If a hunter, especially an Argent, finds out you are half wolf and half human they will kill you on sight. This, what you are, it's not supposed to even be possible. We know you don't follow the standard rules. That makes you unpredictable and dangerous in their minds."

Worry and fear swarmed in his eyes. "I know, but what am I supposed to do? She'd in half of my classes, Lydia's latched onto her for some reason, and I'm pretty sure Scott has a crush on her. There is no way to avoid her."

Derek sighed, dropping his hands to his side. "Just…don't let her find out. Or _anyone_. Call me the _minute_ anything doesn't feel right. And I mean the very _instant_ you even _think_ something is wrong." Kori nodded, leaning forward against Derek. "How did everything get so fucked up?"

"Because it's just our luck." Kori sighed, moving away from Derek. "I should go, I can still make most of my classes."

Derek nodded. "Okay. You need a ride?"

"No, I'm alright. The school isn't that far, besides, we aren't supposed to be together, remember?"

"Yeah well, in light of recent developments, I'm thinking that's not such a good idea."

"The Argent's know you Derek; know about you. They suspect anyone who will even says hi to you."

Derek let out a low frustrated growl. "I know. But I _still_ don't like it. Something just doesn't _feel_ right here."

Kori smiled sadly. "Nothing about what's happened is right. I'll see you later, Der."


	12. 11: Derek

**AN: I noticed that there were about 4 chapters in a row that were focused on Kori, and also there's been a question about the whole True Mate thing and whether or not Derek knows. So, to kind of acknowledge it among one of the two of them…this is where this, written on the fly, chapter comes in.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Teen Wolf.**

* * *

 **Chapter 11- Derek**

Derek stayed leaning against his car as Kori walked off, down the over grown road on her way to school. He could help but worry about her and the connection she now had with the family who he _knew_ was responsible for the death of his family and Kori's mother. He blamed himself for the fire too; if he hadn't been so trusting and naïve. If he hadn't let his guard down, then _maybe_ he would have been able to see the person Kate really was. Again, he thought he had made a connection with someone only for it to end in tragedy. Somehow, Kori never saw him to be the one at fault even when he knew that it was his actions that lead to the incident.

He couldn't harp on that now, there were things that had to be done but the problem was, Derek didn't know where to start. Laura kept whatever she'd found close to her, not even telling Kori about it. He had nothing to go on except a dead deer.

 _What the hell am I supposed to do with that?_

Frustrated, Derek went back into the house, throwing one last look over his should at Laura's resting place. He sighed and walked through the front door only to stand just inside the doorway for several minutes.

Not know what to do or where to begin, Derek felt the rare need for his mother. She always had the answers for everything. He made his way up the stairs and into what used to be her study, which stood alongside his room. The room was filled with dust, dirt, and ash like much of the rest of the house. Thankfully there was no damage from the fire in this room and the journals and books were all still intact and safe. He sighed in relief, not realizing how much he hope these belongings were still here; they were a final piece of his mother, the only thing he really had left of her.

Derek passed a finger along the spine of some of the books that still sat on a tall ornate bookcase. Nothing jumped out at him, he picked up a few to flip through the pages to see if anything caught his eye or gave him something to go off but there was nothing in the published text. He walked across the room, over to an old wooden truck and opened it. On top sat a small box with a verity of phots from his childhood. He smiled softly to himself looking through the photos of him with his mother and Laura, all before Cora was even born. He looked down at one of him hold tightly on top a baby girl, a big grin on his face. Derek stared at it sadly, seeing a photo of him holding, who he thought was, his younger sister at just a few days old. He flipped the photo over to see if there was a date written on the back like his mother so often did.

' _Derek and Baby Kori- a True Bond'_

The other photos slipped out of his hand as he stared down at his mother's handwriting, the words sending a shiver up his spine. He placed the photo down, rummaging through the trunk.

"Okay, mom. I'm listening now, talk to me." Derek pawed through the truck, moving some pieces of clothing and family relics out of the way to reach the bottom. "There they are." He said out loud to himself as he pulled out several of his mother's journals.

He flipped through them, looking for any entries from when the photo of him holding Kori was taken. In a deep green leather bond one with a Celtic knot embossed on the cover, he found an entry about Kori, the first one, from just a few days after she was born and brought meet the pack.

' _Oh, how beautiful Kori is. Her eyes of moss and that brilliant smile. She laughs all the time, never cries. And Derek has taken to her, he won't let anyone go near her when Hannah is over with her. He is so good with her, she loves him already I can sense it. She is calmer in his arms or with him around her. She'll just stare at him for hours. It is an amazing thing to witness, the forming of the Bond at such a young age, but I am certain that is what is happening to them. There is no doubt that the two of them are indeed True Mates…'_

Derek's eyes went wide. _That's not possible._ He read through a few more entries, nothing more about Kori in the first journal so he moved on to what looked to be the next one. The entries were from a few years later, Kori about 5 and he 10.

' _Hannah and Charlie needed a break from their parental responsibilities, Derek sweetly offered to watch Kori for them. She spent the night, much to their hesitation. She's been having nightmares Hannah tells me, I believe it has to do with the half-blood running through her veins. They are worse, she says, when the full moon approaches and they can give her a panic attack. At such a young age, that must be terrifying for the poor girl. Her body is fighting itself, the wolf demanding to take control, but the human side is strong willed and stubborn. It's an internal battle that I believe is manifesting itself in her dreams._

' _She woke up screaming. My heart sank. I held her thrashing body as she whaled and swung her arms wildly. I tried to soother her, but I was of no use. Then Derek came running in, panicked. His eyes were wide and scared, he thought she was in pain. He rushed to her, pulling her from my arms as if an instinct took over. I let him and just watched._

' _He held her tight to his chest, running his hand over her head, and just told her that he was there and that she was okay. Her tiny body relaxed, and she curled up in his lap, her cries softening to nothing as he just held her. Another moment where my son, my beautiful Derek, has amazed me. He looked up into my eyes and told me he would take care of her. I left the two of them in the room together, moments later I heard giggling down the hall. When I went to check on Kori this morning I had a flash of panic when I saw her bed was empty, but noticed Derek's door was open a crack. I looked in to see her curled up to his side, his arm laying protectively over her. She must have woken back up and snuck into his room._

' _The older they get and the closer they get to Age, the stronger the Bond gets. I worry how it will be for Derek once he does turn 17. Kori is 5 years younger, the link won't truly spark until she also reaches 17. Derek will be in limbo while he waits, he may not even know what is going on. There isn't much anyone knows about the Bonded Pairs, even my knowledge is limited.'_

Derek remembered that night his mother wrote about. He was terrified. He was woken up by Kori's cries but there was a tightness in his chest as well, a tightness he couldn't explain.

He read on, skipping entries about him treating Kori like a mean older brother, going forward a couple years.

' _It's happened. The day I prayed would never come. Derek has taken the life of an innocent.'_

Derek's heart dropped, a lump forming in his throat.

' _He cannot be held responsible for this; the young spirited Paige was attacked. Bitten. Her body fought the bite. She wouldn't have made it. He did what I know was the hardest thing for him to even think about. He ended her suffering; freed her. But still, he is broken. Kori can see it. She's tried to be there for him, but he fears hurting everyone around him now. He's lost faith in himself. He's pushing everyone away, even her. And it's breaking her too. I tried to talk to him, get him to understand that he needs to let someone in. He needs to let Kori in, but he just pushes back. He is fighting himself, he wants to take comfort in her. But he will not allow it, he leaves the room when she enters. Tells her to get away from him He has been unkind to her even. She feels unwelcome and has stopped visiting so much._

' _Laura found her in the children's secret place in the woods, crying. She knows that Derek is in pain and she is just trying to help him. She's feeling like she's done something to upset him._

' _I tell him it will get better, easier. But he's just so angry with himself. I know he doesn't mean to hurt Kori, he thinks it's for the best that she stays away from him._

' _I am at a loss for what to do for either. They are still a few years from reaching Age. I just hope Derek lets her back in soon.'_

Derek's heart broke all over again, reading a recount of what happened with Paige and seeing how it affected someone else. He really did believe that having Kori by him would get her hurt, and he didn't want to hurt her. He saw himself as a monster, something that should be feared and denied any kind of comfort or love. He didn't know Kori believed that she had done something wrong. It hurt him to know that he had cause her any kind of pain when al he was trying to do was protect her.

He couldn't read anymore, he read too much already but he couldn't stop himself. His head was spinning with the words of his mother in his mind. He found himself wishing he could find out more about True Mates and Bonded Pairs. Now more than ever he wanted to actually be able to _speak_ with his mother.

 _How is this even possible, it's not even a real thing. Just a story._ He thought to himself. Even as he thought this, he began to replay various moments in his and Kori's history. He began to pull apart every word, analysis body language and tones, every laugh or touch. There was a pull, he couldn't deny it and if he really thought about it his draw toward Kori had gotten stronger over the last five years, after he turned 17, stronger still in the last day since she had turned 17.

 _17._ His mother had written about coming to Age, wrote about the two of them turning 17.

He thought back to the car ride to the reserve, to her hand in his, the prickly feeling in his fingers he felt the night before when he had gotten home.

Derek shook his head. "This is crazy. She hoped too much." He mumbled about his mother, as he stood. "True Mates? Bonded Pair? Crazy. There is no way, not me and Kori. Sorry mom, but you're just wrong." Derek fell silent, as if expecting to hear an argument from his mother. "You have to be."

His thoughts went to Paige, his feelings for her, how it ended. Then to Kate and his feelings for her, and how that ended. Derek could sense something there, between him and Kori when they were together or even when he was alone. His thoughts were always on Kori. He felt it the minute he saw her running toward him, her smiled lifting him up even though he had just found his sister dead. But he wouldn't let himself believe that there was anything there, he refused to acknowledge the feeling he knew were there.

The minute he did, that was when disaster would strike, and he would lose her. For good.

He lost Paige.

He lost his family because of Kate.

He couldn't lose Kori.


	13. 12: Kori

**AN: Hello there! Just a small hiatus, sorry about that. I was starting to get behind on the writing of chapters, I wanted to have a few more written out before posting anything new to space it out for myself. I also found a better flow for a couple chapters and had to rework them in a different order, which I'm still working out but I'll post the 2 that I have done and ready to make up for not posting in almost a month.**

 **Thank you to all who have continued for follow, favorite, and review this fic so far!**

 **Happy reading!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Teen Wolf.**

* * *

 **Chapter 12- Kori**

Kori arrived at school Just as her history class was getting let out. She saw Alison and Lydia walking out, heading away from her. Then Stiles and Scott emerged from the room. She caught up to them, nudging the two of them aside to squeeze between them, getting a smirk form Scott and a look of concern from her cousin.

"Your eyes are red…and a bit puffy. Were you crying? Why were you crying?"

"I'm fine Stiles." She said rolling her eyes.

"If you were crying, that says you're not fine."

"It's nothing Stiles, don't worry about it."

"So, nothing made you cry?"

"Exactly. Can we go to lunch now? Scott?" Kori walked ahead a few steps.

Scott turned to his friend with a shrug. "Sorry man."

" _Dude_." Stiles said, throwing his hands up.

The three entered the cafeteria together, Stiles and Kori going to an empty table while Scott went to wait on line for his lunch.

"You sure you're okay? You seem…off."

Kori nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay. Just…it's a long story and I don't really want to get into it."

"Get into what? Why you ditched the first half of the day or why you're avoiding me again. Or maybe who the guy was from yesterday." Lydia flopped down beside Kori, an mischievous glint in her eye. "Care to explain any one of the three?"

"Guy? What guy?" Stiles said, his head snapping from Lydia to Kori.

Scott came up with is tray of food, sitting next to Stiles. "You're seeing someone?"

"He's no one, forget it."

"He didn't _look_ like no one." Kori noticed Alison seated on her other side. "Sorry, its none of my business but-"

"You're right, it's _not_." Kori snapped. "In fact, it's _no_ _one's_ business." She said, leveling them all with a stare.

"You go running into the arms some guy, an _older_ one, in front of the school and it's no one's business?" Lydia argued.

"What are we talking about?" Luke asked as he shoved Stiles over.

" _Why_ are we sitting here?" Jackson asked with a sigh as he took a seat at the head of the table to Lydia's left.

" _Because_ , we are trying to get information from _her_." Lydia explained, pointing to Kori.

"What information?" Luke questioned with a lazy grin.

"We're trying to find out more about the guy she left with yesterday." Kori turned her head, glaring at Lydia who smiled in response. "Who was he Kori? You seemed pretty close."

"What guy?" Luke asked with an edge to his voice, that didn't go unnoticed by Kori. "You're running off with random guys now?"

She sighed. "He wasn't some random guy."

"So, you're seeing someone behind my back?" Luke's voice began to rise.

"First of all, I'm not even seeing you. Second of all, where do you get off getting pissed at me when you were hooking up with two different girls just last week?"

"That…was different!" Luke tried to defend himself.

"Dude…no." Stiles interjected, shaking his head.

"Oh? So, you have it in your head that we are together and you can go hook up with whoever, but me I can't even get a ride home from a friend? I mean we aren't together, so either way there isn't, or well there shouldn't be, an issue here."

"If we aren't together then why do you care who I hook up with?"

"The point is Luke, you keep thinking we are together yet you're with someone different every other day. If that's how you are when you _think_ you're in a relationship with someone how do you act when you're _actually_ in a relationship? It's things like that, you not even seeing what you've done wrong, that are the reason why we aren't together." Kori stood from the table, grabbing her bag from the floor. "Thank you, Lydia and Alison, for make this lunch such a pleasure. Jackson, Scott, Stiles; good luck tonight. I'll see you there."

Kori turned away, leaving her lunchmates behind at the table.

Kori spent the rest of the day avoiding her friend the best she could with having them in her classes following lunch. Stiles tried to go up to her in biology, but she quickly sat with an oblivious Danny and started to look over the days lab.

Lydia followed close behind Kori to their last class, English. When the two entered the room, the class was still empty.

"Kori, please talk to me. Look, I'm sorry ok I really am. I didn't think that it was that big of a deal. I didn't think everyone would like gang up on you."

"They didn't gang up on me, but it did get a rise out of Luke which you should have known it would."

Lydia's shoulders slumped down. "I know, you're right. Did I mention I was sorry?" She looked up at Kori with an apologetic gaze.

Kori sighed, leaning back in her seat. "It's okay, I just didn't want everyone to know my business."

"Especially Alison?"

"I didn't say that."

"Kori, we've been _best_ friends for how long now? You didn't have to, I know you don't like her."

"I don't even _know_ her." Kori protested.

"Yeah, but you still don't _like_ her. I can tell."

Kori turned to Lydia, folding her leg under her in the desk chair. "I don't know her Lydia, I don't need her making comments about my life and making assumptions. It's not about whether I like her or not. If you had just asked me, _you_ , I would have told you about Derek because _you_ are my best friend. But you had to bring it up in front of Alison _and_ Stiles _and_ Jackson _and_ Luke _and_ Scott."

Lydia nodded, thoughtful for a moment. "So…Who was he?" She asked with a playful grin.

"You didn't take much time to think about that did you?"

"Well I'm sorry that I want to know who my best friend is getting excited about seeing. Come on, give me the summary and we'll get into details later."

"Ugh," Kori sighed, knowing that Lydia would not drop it. "Fine, he's an old family friend." Lydia just stared at her, waiting for more. "What? You said summary. The summary is that he is an old family friend."

Lydia rolled her eyes. "Nope, not good enough, I need more. Just a couple more bullet points."

"What am I giving a report or something?"

"Talk!"

"I don't know what you want me to tell you. I've known him since I was a baby, we grew up together, our mothers were close, I haven't seen him in four years, but we talk all the time."

"And you think he's really hot."

Kori narrowed her eyes at Lydia. "What? No, Lyd he's like a brother."

"Yeah, a brother you want to hook up with."

She shook her head. "No way, he's just…I don't know he's Derek."

Lydia chuckled softly. "You are totally in love with him."

"Oh my god, would you stop. I shouldn't have told you anything, I regret our friendship."

"Why are you blushing if you aren't into him, hm?" Kori stared at Lydia, mouth opened waiting for something to come out in defense of her friend's accusations. "See, you have nothing to say to that do you?"

"I…it's not…you're just reading into what you want." Kori turned around to face the front of the class as a couple kids began to enter the room.

"There's more to this, isn't there?" Lydia said, reading into Kori's tone and body language. "What is it?"

Kori was about to tell her that it was nothing but felt compelled to be honest to her friend. "A couple years ago I might have told him I had a thing for him."

" _Might_ have?!" Lydia asked with excitement. "What happened?"

"Nothing, I was like 13 and he's 5 years older than I am. It was just a stupid crush. He brushed it off and that was that."

"But the crush hasn't gone away, has it? I can tell by the way you talk about him and the way you were looking at him when he picked you up."

Kori shrugged. "I haven't thought about it really. Besides, it doesn't matter, he's older and has made it clear that I'm just another sister to him which is fine."

"Even if you're feeling something more? That can't be easy Kor, you shouldn't do that to yourself."

"It's not a big deal, like I said I haven't given much thought about it. It was just some stupid crush."

"Kori-" The bell rang, cutting Lydia off, and the missing students began to rush into the classroom to take their seats.

"Okay class, lets settle down! Looks like everyone is just about all here, almost on time for once. Mr. Stilinski!" The teacher greeted as Stiles wondered in late. "Thank you for gracing us with your presence, only marginally late. And where is your other half, Mr. McCall?"

Stiles saluted the teacher as he took his seat in front of Kori. "He will be here any minute Sir, just had to take a leak."

"More information then was need Mr. Stilinski."

"Sharing is caring Sir."

"Stiles, shut up." Kori whispered to her cousin with a smile on her face.

"Kori," Lydia whispered. "I think we should talk more about this."

"Nothing to talk about Lyds." Kori whispered back, throwing Lydia a reassuring smile before putting her attention back to the front of the room.

When the final bell rang at the end of the day, there were large loud crowds all through the hallway, everyone getting hyped up for the first game of the season. Kori weaved through the throngs of people, hearing Stiles calling out to her as she went. It was likely that he wanted to talk to her about the "guy" mentioned during lunch, thankfully he wasn't in the classroom when she and Lydia were talking. Stiles was smart, he could put things together pretty quickly without a lot to go on. Just the mention of Derek and his knowledge of her mother's connection with the Hale's would be enough for him to guess which Derek she was talking about. She didn't want to have to get into how she knew Derek with him; he already thought Derek was dangerous, he would alert his dad about his concerns and she just didn't want to deal with it.

Kori disappeared out the doors before Stiles could catch up to her, she headed out toward the cross country running trails which would have very few, if any, people on them because of the off season. She was finally able to be away from everyone else, her friends, classmates, teachers; everyone. All day she felt a lingering weight on her chest, a sign that a panic attack wasn't far off. She somehow managed to keep it at bay, finding ways to distracter herself from her thoughts and worries. Outside she felt like she could breathe more easily, felt more like herself and less like she was going to lose control.

Kori wandered down the trails, finding a more secluded area off to the side. She carefully walked down a hill, and settled on the ground at the base of a tree. Her talk with Lydia had her thinking about Derek, wondering if that crush she had on him a few years ago was still there. It wasn't something she focused on or even thought about after she told him about her feelings. She hadn't expected anything to happen, she had just wanted to be open with Derek; they never held secrets from each other. It was awkward and a little embarrassing telling him, but she just blurted it out one day. He gave her a smile, his eyes soft and he just said, "You're a sweet girl Kor." And that was that. She was relieved at his reaction; he didn't laugh in her face or belittle her feelings really. He found it endearing but there was the understanding that he was too old for her and she was too young to really even be thinking seriously about boys. At least at the time she was too young. She was 17 now, she didn't seem so young anymore.

Derek was incredibly good looking, and kind, funny, smart. He was a fearsome protector, always looked out for her and put her before everything else. When you knew him, it was easy to fall for him. With everything going on in her life though, Kori couldn't trust that her feelings were anything more than her seeking comfort in the loss they were dealing with. It could just be the wolf in her seeking out a pack member to ease the pain.

And Lydia had her thinking too much about it, it was like the thoughts were now implanted in her head thanks to her friends.

"So, it just because of Lydia then, I'm just over thinking things. I'm not into Derek, that was a childhood infatuation." Kori mumble to herself.

She leaned her head back against the tree, closing her eyes and listening to the wind rustle the leaves in the tree.

In a few hours she would have to make her way up to the Lacrosse field and get to work, but for now she could just relax.


	14. 13: Kori

**Chapter 13- Kori**

"Hey Kori, over here!" Lydia called to Kori as she approached the path leading up to the lacrosse field, waving her hand with Allis beside her.

Kori took a deep breath and forced a smile as she walked up to the pair. "Hey."

"Kori, I just wanted to apologize for earlier. You don't know me very well and I had not right sticking my nose in where it didn't belong. I'm really sorry."

Lydia eyed Kori carefully, trying to get a reading on her friend. She took a deep breath before responding politely. "Thank you for the apology, I appreciate that."

Allison smiled, hoping for more words but when none came she nodded. "I'll see you guys up on the field, save you seats?"

"One for me, yes. Kori will be working so she won't need one up by us. Here, can you take Jacksons poster up with you?"

"Yeah, of course." Allison took the sign from Lydia and made her way up to the field.

"Could you have been a _little_ nicer? She's sorry for upsetting you, clearly." Lydia's eyes were soft, looking almost sad as they watched Allison walking away.

"I wasn't mean, I said thank you. What, was I supposed to tell her it was okay?" Lydia shrugged. "I'm not like that Lydia, you know that. I'm not going to tell someone what they did was okay when it's not."

"I know, but she's going to think you hate her."

"We went through this, I don't even know her. I can't hate her. I'm just dealing with somethings right now, I can't worry about sparing a stranger's feelings."

"Marshall! We need you on the field!"

"Lydia, I have to go. Mr. Masons calling. I'll see you in a bit okay?"

Lydia threw her hands up in defeat. "I guess, see you."

Kori ran up to the field, staying near the players to get some resting shots of them before the game started. She moved around the side lines as the game began, snapping pictures of every scoring attempt and hit that came. She couldn't help but smile as she worked with her new camera and new lens.

The game was a lot of back and forth between the two teams, Jackson's game wasn't as strong as it normally was and Scott's impossible display of skills from tryouts was not showing. It made Kori think that maybe she had been over thinking what she'd seen and Scott had just gotten lucky.

"Woo! Come on Jackson! You got this! Woo!" Kori turned to the stands to find Lydia and Allison holding up the sign supporting Jackson. She smiled, taking a picture of the girls.

Kori felt a chill run up her back at the shifting of the wind. What sounded like a growl floated through the air. Her body stiffened as she turned back to the field, her eyes darting everywhere. She took in a deep breath, her eyes widened when they caught the scent of another wolf in the area. She turned, looking everywhere; her eyes again fell to her friend and her new companion. Her heart began to pound in her chest when her eyes fell on a familiar looking man sitting on Allison's left side. She'd only seen him once, she was certain he didn't know here bur he did know Derek.

 _Chris Argent_. She though with malice.

Another, louder, growl reached her ears as a play began behind her. She turned in time to see Scott and his amazing athletic display once more.

"Shit." She said out loud.

Scott scored. Then scored again. He moved like water, dodging players that came at him with ease. Scotts head turned, facing an on comping play, and that's when she saw it. His eyes. They were glowing a bright honey brown color.

"Fuck." Kori cursed under her breath, pulling out her phone.

She pulled up Derek's name and shot him a quick message.

 _ **We've got a problem.**_

His response was almost immediate. **What is it? Are you okay?**

 _ **Scott was bitten, he's playing, and Argent it here.**_

 **Your friend? That girl?**

 _ **Chris.**_ There was a long pause without any response from Derek, making Kori nervous. _**Derek?**_

 **You need to leave. NOW.**

 _ **Because THAT won't look weird.**_

 **Not if he isn't giving you a second thought. Kori GO! I swear I'll drag you home myself!**

 _ **Stop it. The game is almost over; he hasn't even looked at me. I'm fine.**_

 **I knew I should have said something to that kid.**

Kori stared at her screen in surprise. _**You knew?**_

 **I thought he may have gotten bit the other night.**

 _ **And you didn't tell me?**_

 **We were busy dealing with stuff Kor, you were dealing. I wasn't going to add more to that. I was going to take care of it.** Kori shook her head.

Her attention was brought back to the game as Scott scored the winning goal, the game coming to an end shortly after. The crowd cheered, many running down onto the field to celebrate the teams first win of the season. Kori spotted Scott taking off back toward the school, Stiles following close behind. Kori's phone went off alerting her of a new message.

 **Kori? Say something! You can't tell be Argent is there then go silent.**

Kori rolled her eyes. _**I think Scott might have shifted, he just ran off the field. I'LL take care of it. Let you know if I can't.**_

She stuffed her phone into her pocket and took off after Stiles and Scott, her heart pounding as she worried about her cousin coming face to face with the new wolf. She had lost sight of them when she answered Derek back but followed their sent to the locker room.

"Scott! Hey man, snap out of it! It's me! It's Stiles! Scott!" Stiles could be heard from inside the locker room, sounding more worried for his friend than himself.

Kori threw open the door to the locker room to find her cousin on the floor with his back against the wall and a partially shifted Scott advancing on him.

Stiles head snapped over to Kori, his eyes going wide with fear. "Kori!? Get out of here!" He warned.

Kori jumped in front of Stiles, facing off against the new wolf, with her fangs out and her eyes glowing enhancing their emerald green color. She heard a shallow gasp from behind her from her cousin as her claws popped out.

"What the hell?" He questioned.

Kori ignored Stiles' confusion and advanced on Scott, his wolf side seeing the challenged cam back at her. He swung a clawed hand, which she ducked with out hesitation. She slipped around him, leaping on his back, digging her claws into his shoulder.

His knees buckled, and he fell to the ground with a cry of pain. Kori stood over him, still ready to attack, but slowly Scott started to come back.

He looked to Stiles, who now stood against the wall more confused than ever. His eyes were still open wide as he stared behind Scott. Scott, panting, turned around, slowly getting up, looking to where his friend's eyes were glued.

"Are you going to try and rip my cousin apart again?" Kori asked, fangs and claws still out and her eyes still glowing bright.

"You're a…you're…" Stiles stammered.

Kori glanced at Stiles but spoke to Scott again. "Are you going to try and kill him?" Scott shook his head. "Say it."

"No!"

Kori relaxed, her glowing eyes fading back to their normal green as she retracted her claws. "You need to get yourself somewhere safe Scott, before you do something you'll regret."

"I'm fine."

"Sure you are, that's why you were just trying to rip apart your best friend. Scott, you don't have this under control you need to listen to me."

"I said I'm fine!"

Kori caught a glint of his glowing eyes as it flared with his raised voice. "No, you're not. You need to lay low, at least until after the first full moon. I can help you work through it, but you _have_ to listen to me. You shouldn't have even been out on that field today."

"No, I'm fine. I have a date with Allison. I can't miss it!"

"Allison!? Argent? No, you can't. Scott, you're brand new. You aren't in control, you could do something. You can _not_ go on a date with Allison!"

"I'll be fine, I don't need you telling me what to do! I can handle this, whatever this is I can handle it! I'll see you in a bit at the party."

"Scott, no. Wait, you can't go to the party! Scott!" Scott stormed off out of the locker room, Kori tried to run after him, but the players began to enter the hall in a mass as Scott moved farther away. She tried and failed to get through the throng of people.

"Stiles," Kori started, without looking to confirm if her cousin had followed her out. "You need to keep and eye on him and if you think there's _anything_ happening you text me. I'll make sure no one gets hurt."

"Scott wouldn't hurt anyone." He said in an attempt to defend his friend but there was a worry in his tone that said he wasn't sure anymore.

Kori turned to look at her cousin. "He almost hurt you, Stiles. If I hadn't followed you two…he might have killed you. He's no in control, this is his first full moon and he didn't get much time to even deal with what he is now. There's no telling what he'll do."

"And what about you?" Stiles questioned cautiously.

Kori raised an eyebrow at him, she could sense the fear in him; it was slight but still there all the same. She looked around, seeing the hallway beginning to empty already. "Is that your way of asking what I am?"

"You mostly looked like Scott, but your eyes…they weren't gold like his. You're not the same as him, not exactly at least." Kori shook her head. "You aren't a werewolf; your eyes were still…yours but they were glowing. The green was brighter. So…what are you?"

His analysis seemed to easy the fear Kori sense, like talking it all out made everything ok. It made her think that it wasn't the fact that she had just looked like something out of a horror movie that made him feel like that but that he could have been losing his mind.

"I'm…I am a werewolf, but I'm half. There's more to explain about it and I'll telling you whatever you want to know, but right now isn't the time. The party starts in a couple hours and we have some baby sitting to do."


	15. 14: Kori

**AN: Okay, this is the bit where I throw out a little warning. This chapter has an intense moment that may be a trigger for some. There is implied (probably a little more than implied) intent of assault. It is not anything graphic however, and the attempt is very unsuccessful.**

 **Happy reading. Thanks for sticking with me! Does anyone feel like this is being dragged out? I didn't want this story to be rushed, I feel like that would take away from it. Not to be that person, but I think its pretty good and I don't ever say that about anything I do whether it is writing or photography. Anyway, I've been enjoying writing this and was on a kick the last couple days and have about 6 chapters drafted and ready to be typed up.**

 **Disclaimer: Teen Wolf is not mine.**

* * *

 **Chapter 14 – Kori**

Kori rode to Jackson's with Stiles, the two arriving just as Scott was walking inside with Allison.

"Okay, he's here. He just went inside. If we're lucky his little outburst in the locker room is all that he'll do tonight. There's a chance, since he's literally only been a werewolf for three days that he'll have just that flare up."

" _Little_ outburst? He tries to rip my head off!" Stiles exclaimed, getting gout of the car.

"No offense Stiles, but you sort of have that effect on people."

"Wha- have _you_ almost ripped my head off?!"

Kori shrugged, closing the Jeeps door. "Let's just say you're lucky I have control, most of the time. Come on, let's get inside."

Upon entering the house, Kori and Stiles were immediately separated when Lydia grabbed her and pulled her away. Stile gave her a nod, letting her know he'd watch Scott.

Lydia brought Kori to the back of the house where most of the lacrosse team was congregated. Jackson nodded in form of greeting, nudging Luke on his left to get his attention.

"Kori!" Luke greeted in a drunken haze. "You made it! We were taking bets to see if you'd show up tonight since you've been blowing us off the last few days." He threw an arm around her shoulder, pulling her in close to whisper in her ear. "I've missed you."

Kori tried to pull away, but Luke tightened his hold on her with a smile. "You've been kind of a jerk; making fun of my cousin, acting super possessive."

Luke's grin widened. "Can you blame me?" Kori rolled her eyes, looking away to find Jackson dragging Lydia out the back door. "Look, I know okay? Can we just go talk for five minutes?" Kori glared at him, skeptically. "Please?"

She wanted to say no, but he looked sincere, so she gave in. "Fine, you get five minutes of my time Lucas."

Luke put his hands up. "That's all I'm asking for." He stepped aside at the beginning of a hallway, gesturing to her to lead the way. She rolled her eyes at him again, walking down the hall.

They walked down to an empty spare bedroom at the end of the hall and stepped inside, Luke closing the door behind them.

"Okay." She stated. "Talk. What do you have to say to me that could be said out there?"

"I just wanted you to be able to hear me, plus I didn't want to have to yell." Luke stepped away from the door, closer to Kori. "It's much quieter in here, better for talking."

Kori crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "Yeah, well then talk, your minutes are running out. You're down to four now."

"What did I do? Suddenly you seem to hate me or something."

"You've been being an ass, plus you've treated my cousin like shit for years. Lydia said you were this nice guy, and she had this obsession with trying to set me up with someone. She's the only reason I even gave you a chance. You were fine, then you made a few comments about Stiles, like you forgot he was my family. You didn't have to like him, but if you had any intentions of getting involved with me you'd have the sense to not make fun of him in front of me."

"Look, I know. I'm a dick. I'm sorry. Can't we just…start over?" Luke reached out, gently taking Kori's wrist.

She pulled her arm back, dropping it to her side. "There's nothing to start over Luke. We went out a couple times over break, made out in your car once, and that was it. We were never really together, I'm sorry if that's what you thought."

"Just hearing about you with another guy, even seeing you with your spaz cousin and his idiot friend, drives me nuts Kori." Luke stepped closer, making Kori retreat back with each step he took. "I have to hear about some unknown guy picking you up at school from _Lydia_ ; who _is_ this guy?" His voice began to rise, causing Kori to glance around for an easy exit. "Why was he picking you up? You belong to me Kori." Luke reached out grabbing her by the shoulders.

"Luke, let go. Now." Kori kept her voice calm and level. "You're drunk."

"I don't want to let go. Kori, I really like you. If you give me another chance it'll be different." Luke's head bowed, his lips seeking out Kori's.

She turned her head, squirming in his grasp. "Luke, stop." She tried to pull out of his grip, but Luke's hands slide from her shoulder, tightening on her arms. "Let go. Luke, I said _let go_."

Luke leaned forward, whispering in Kori's ear. "I _really_ like you Kori."

Luke moved closer, forcing Kori to step back more until the back of her legs hit the bed. She tensed up, feeling trapped; she could stop him, she knew she could, but she could feel the panic building inside of her and she began to worry that she would loose control like she often did when feeling panicked. The closer Luke press himself to her, the more panicked she felt. She lost her balance and fell back onto the bed with Luke hoovering over her.

"I could be good for you." He said, staring down at her.

"Luke, just get off me. You need to sober up, you're no good to anyone right not."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "I _can_ be good for you, I'll prove it."

"Luke, no. Get off. Now!" Luke laid himself down against Kori, his lips trailing along her neck as she squirmed under his body. His hand moved down her arm, landing on her hip with his fingers brushing against the exposed skin where her shirt rode up. "Luke, stop!"

Her protest fell of deaf ears as Luke's hand continued to move down her leg and back up, the other trying to push her shirt up farther. One of Kori's arms was pinned behind her from how they'd fallen to the bed, she tried to reach her phone with her free hand but was unable to get to her back pocket. She reached up, pushing Luke's head away from her, she tried to get her knee up to leverage him up enough to slip out from under his weight. Luke shifted with her movements and was able to press her legs back down between his own.

Kori felt his hand moving further up her shirt, she twisted her body trying to pull away from his touch with her eyes squeezed shut. Then suddenly there was a rush of air and the extra weight on top of her was ripped away followed by a loud thud against a nearby wall.

"What the _fuck_ do you think you are doing!?" Asked a loud, furious voice with a deep growl.

Kori's eyes snapped open, scrambling off the bed, to find Derek holding Luke against the wall.

"Derek?" She said in shock.

He shot Kori a quick glance over his shoulder before bringing his attention back to the boy in his grasp. "Who the hell are you? You think this is okay?"

"What the fuck man? She's my girlfriend! We're just having a little fun. Tell 'im babe."

"Fun? Yeah, looked like she was having a fucking blast." Derek pulled Luke away from the wall only to slam him into it again, causing the sheetrock to crack behind him.

He pulled back his right arm, fingers clenched tight into a fist. Kori moved behind him, grabbing his arm at the elbow and held him back. "Derek don't. Just…let him go."

"What?" Derek's eyes, glowing blue, met Kori's, his breathing was heavy and uneven, he was on the verge of loosing control. Her hand covered his fist and she began to lower it, feeling the tension easing slightly. She disentangled Derek's hand from Luke's shirt, her movements slow and careful.

When Luke was free, she leveled him with a hard stare. "Go. And I suggest you leave the party and sober up."

Luke hesitated for a moment, looking as if he wanted to protest. "Leave." Derek snarled. "Now!" Luke jumped at the sudden rise in Derek's voice and scurried out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Derek glared at the closed door for another minute, Kori stayed on his side not moving. He took a long, slow, breath before turning to face her, his eyes fading from the cool blue they had just been. He brought his hand up to hold the side of her face, staring at her with distraught eyes. "Are you okay?" His voice was soft and calming, far from where it had been just a few minutes before, but she could still hear his heart pounding in his chest. She just nodded in response. "Are you sure?" Derek began to look everywhere, checking for any sign of physical harm. He tilted her head from side to side, checking her neck, pulling her arms out to inspect them for marks. A low growl emitted from his throat when he rolled up her one sleeve and found red impressions on her fore arm. His eyes shot up to hers, a flash of blue sparking before quickly disappearing. "I'm going to _kill_ him. Who _was_ that asshole Kori?!"

"Derek, I'm okay. Look, it's already going away, see?"

"I don't care, he's dead. Why did you make me let him go? I'm going to find that piece of shit and-"

"Derek! Stop. Look, I'm okay, he was drunk. He didn't know what he was doing."

"So that makes it okay?" Derek was furious, but when he spoke to her he sounded broken and worried. "Why would you even try to defend someone like that?"

"Nothing happened." Kori said softly.

"Because I heard you Kori, from outside. What if I hadn't? What if I wasn't here checking on you? You could have stopped him yourself…why didn't you?" Derek's hands were back on either side of Kori's face, his eyes soft and sad.

"I-I don't…I don't know. I didn't think I'd be able to control myself. I've felt this weight on my chest all day like I'm walking on the edge of a cliff about to fall over, and you know what happened when I get an anxiety attack. I've been trying to keep it together all day and just now with him…I was just trying not to lose control and hurt him."

"Kori, I get that, but he…" Derek shook his head, turning away from her which pushing his hand through his hair. "You know it's not like he wouldn't have deserved it."

"What? Me hurting him?"

" _Someone_ hurting him. Yeah."

"And if I ended up killing him? What then Derek?"

"I almost killed him."

"I don't want to kill anyone, especially not some stupid drunk guy who goes to school with me. I just…It's over, can we just drop it?"

Derek starred at Kori for a moment, he eyes scanning every inch of her. He let out a frustrated sigh before nodding. "Yeah, okay. You sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, a little embarrasses about having to be rescued, but I'm fine."

"Want me to take you home?"

Kori sighed. "Yeah, I'll meet you out front thought. I should say bye to Lydia and find Stiles too."

"Alright, I'll be right outside."

Kori nodded, giving him a soft smile as she left the room. As she walked down the hallway to the main crowd of the party she sensed fear and confusion in an overwhelming amount.

"Scott, you okay man?" She heard her cousins voice above to music. She looked around for either of the two boys only to spot Scott rushing out the front door with Allison trailing behind.

"Allison!" She called, getting the girls attention. "What happened?"

Allison shrugged as Kori came up to her side. "I don't know, we were dancing and all of a sudden he took off. I think maybe he got sick or something." She continued to follow the path Scott had taken out the front door, Kori following close behind her.

The girls stepped through the threshold in time to see Scott pulling away in a hurry. Kori's heart beat began to pick up as worry for the new wolf set in. Her worry eased, however, when a hand was place on her lower back. She turned to see Derek behind her, giving her a knowing nod. She sighed in relief at his presence, the tension and worrying seemed to just melt away at his light touch.

"I take it that was your ride?" He said to Allison who turned with a look of surprise on her face.

She nodded. "Yeah, sort of."

"I can give you a ride home, I was about to take Kori home too."

"Actually, I need to find Stiles, but take Allison home?" Derek shot her a look, clearly showing he felt uneasy about leaving her at the party. She placed a reassuring hand on his arm, giving it a squeeze. "I'll be fine." She whispered. "I'm going to grab Stiles and we'll go check on Scott, ok?"

"Can you text me? Let me know he's ok?"

Kori nodded, handing over he phone for Allison to add her number to. "Thanks Kori." She said with a shy smile.

"No problem. I'll talk to you soon."

Allison began walking toward the road, Derek falling in step behind her. He stopped next to Kori before moving forward. "Be careful." He warned with a stern look.

Kori nodded before heading back in to find Stiles and go after his idiot friend.


	16. 15: Derek

**AN: So you guys like protective Derek? Knight in shining leather right? Thanks for the reviews!**

 **Happy reading!**

 **Disclaimer: Don't own Teen Wolf.**

* * *

 **Chapter 15- Derek**

Derek brought Allison home, waiting until she was inside before driving away. The entire ride was a tense one for him, he tired to get a read on her to see if she knew anything about him and what he was but either she was clueless or really good at lying. Still, she was someone in danger and despite who her family was and what they'd done; _she_ had never done anything to him. Yet.

After dropping her off, it was time to set some bait to lure Scott into the woods and away from anyone he could harm. Lucky for him, Allison left her jacket in the car and just as he thought it brought Scott right to him.

He had Scott against a tree; the kid actually thought that he would stand a chance in a fight with him. But he heard them in the woods, stalking. Hunters. His lecture was cut short, because he and Scott weren't out there alone. He wouldn't shut up, kept asking about the Argent girl. The hunters were getting closer. He needed to run. They both did before the hunters got to them.

Scott just lay there though, wouldn't get up. He wasn't _getting_ it, but Derek wasn't going to wait around all night for him to get it through his head that there was danger coming. So, he left him. Scott ended following not far behind, but he wasn't quick enough or paying attention to his surroundings. Derek heard his grunt of pain when he was shot with an arrow and pinned to a tree. He rolled his eyes, doubling back to save the stupid kids ass.

He came up behind one of the hunters, easily taking him out and another after. The move was enough to distract the rest of them and Derek was able to get to Scott and pull the arrow from his arm freeing him from the tree. The two of them ran before the rest of the hunters were able to get a good look at them or which way they were headed.

Once they were in the clear, they slowed down.

"This is all your fault." Scott started again.

"My fault?" Derek questioned.

"If you hadn't bitten me then none of this would be happening!"

"Is it really so bad, Scott?" He started, not denying the accusation. "That you can see better; hear more clearly, move faster than any human could ever hope? You've been given something that most people would kill for. The bite is a gift."

"I don't want it!"

"You will. And you're gonna need me if you want to learn how to control it. So, you and me, Scott. We're brothers now. And there are others here that are in more danger than you if you let anyone find out about us. It's not just me. Not just you."

"You mean Kori, don't you?" Derek's eyes narrowed at him. "She's something too, isn't she?"

"Is she your friend?"

"What?"

"Is she you _friend_ , Scott?"

"Yeah…"

"Then you'll stay off the Argents radar, you'll stay away from Allison and you'll keep yourself off the field."

Derek left him there in the woods, with no other explanation.

* * *

 **Scott is fine, had a run in with some hunters but he's good.** Derek sent a message to Kori as he walked back to the house, knowing she was out looking for her friend.

 _ **You were looking for him?**_

 **Sort of.**

 _ **?**_

 **I might have lured him out to the reserve, to get him away from people.**

 _ **But he's okay?**_

Derek smiled at her concern for Scott. **Yes. He's fine, I think he's got a good grip on himself for now.**

 _ **Good. I'll let Allison know he's okay. Thank you.**_

 **Are you okay?** There was pause in Kori's response as Derek entered his house, the dots blinking across the screen as she typed her response then disappearing when she deleted it. **Kori?**

 _ **I'm good. Promise.**_

He sighed, not sure if he was frustrated or relieved. He felt his whole body get tense and go rigid just thinking about what he found when he went into the house for Kori. Without thinking, without holding back, he knew his eyes flared to their cold blue. That kid was either too drunk or too scared to notice though. Derek's had good control over his shift, only having problems when was a teenager. But seeing that guy on top of Kori like that, and feeling what he could only assume was her fear and anxiety, he lost his control.

Sleep had not come easily that night, Derek laid awake running through the night in his mind. He gave up and pulled himself out of bed, grabbed his jacket and went outside at 2 in the morning, wanting to do anything to keep his mind off the party and the guy on top of Kori. He worried that if he let himself think about it too much he'd end up hunting the kid down; it wasn't that he _didn't_ want to rip the kids throat out, but Kori didn't seem to want that and wouldn't be too happy if he went a head and did it anyway.

So, he walked. Not knowing where he was headed or having any particular destination in mind, he just walked. Before he realized where he was or were he was going, Derek found himself in front of Beacon Hill High School. He looked around, puzzled but shrugged his shoulders and walk to the sign where he popped his claws out and twisted a metal disc on the side. The half wall piece with the school's name on it turned to unveil an opening in the ground. Derek descended the stairs into his family's vault. He stepped inside and blinked, shaking his head as he looked around as if just realizing he was even in the vault. He walked around, looking at the things his mother had placed in there. There were old relics that had been in his family for years and talismans that were used for different ceremonies and rituals and even helped werewolves to learn control.

He walked around the vault, running his hand over some of the things he hadn't seen in ages until he came to a large bookshelf. Most of the books were old journals with bits of important information future generations may need; some were just stories and legends written by his ancestors. His attention fell on one in particular; a brown, worn looking leather bound journal with a cracking spine from over use. Derek pulled it from the shelf and began to carefully thumb through it, finding that is was something written generations before his mother was even born. He recognized a few of the writings; his mother had pulled the book out a couple times when he was young and struggling for control. But he never was able to look through the whole thing, he was also never curious enough to read the wisdom of his ancestors when he was younger. His attention was pulled in when he reached a page that described the Pair Bond. He snapped the book shut and tucked it into his jacket and left the vault, locking it up again before heading back to the house.

* * *

Derek knocked out a couple hours after he had gotten home, reading some of the journal he'd found though not reading much about the Pair Bound just yet. He woke up just a few hours later, only getting about 4 hours of sleep and not one of them was a restful one. He climbed out of bed just past 7 and wondered into the bath room to shower; when he was finished he threw on pants and a shirt and went into the office to go back to the research he'd been doing.

He'd been trying to find out what it was that brought Laura back to Beacon hills, so far he'd found nothing that stood out to him. The online article printouts and newspapers were piling up on the desk as was the information he'd started gathering about the Pair Bonds, which was minimal but the most promising thing he'd found was the journal from the vault. He still hadn't really read much into it, the whole thing still put him on edge especially the fact that it seemed to be true. It was a lot to process and even though he wanted to try and understand the whole thing; he wanted to know more before talking to Kori about it.

Derek sat in the office, getting frustrated at the lack of information or clues he was coming up with for several hours, not realizing it was now well past noon. He reached back, stretching his arms and back before standing up. He walked out to the hall, to grab his jacket from his room, when he heard someone yelling outside as they approached the house.

"Derek! Derek!" Derek rolled his eyes and looked out the window overlooking the front yard to find Scott standing out there yelling. "Stay away from her!"

"Away from who?" Scott jumped back at Derek's sudden appearance from the back side of the house.

"Allison. She doesn't know anything!"

"Yeah?" Derek asked, stepping forward. "What if she does? You think your little buddy Stiles can just Google werewolves and now you got all the answers, is that it? You don't get it yet, Scott, but I'm looking out for you. Think about what could happen. You're out on the field. The aggression takes over. And you shift. In front of _everyone_. Your mom. All your friends. And when they see you, everything falls apart. Like I told you last night, it's not just you who's at risk here."

Scott narrowed his eyes at Derek who shook his head and turned to walk away. "How do you know Kori? Why do you care about what happens to her?" Derek stopped in his track.

He turned his head, looking at Scott over his shoulder. "That's none of your business."

"She Stiles' cousin and my friend, I don't trust you; I'm making it my business."

"Are you?" Derek turned around to face the new wolf, hearing a challenge in his voice.

"How do you know her?"

Derek smirked at him, shaking his head. "You need to worry a little less about who I know and how I know them and a little more about how you're going to keep yourself from ripping someone's throat out. Get off my property." He turned back around to leave once again.

"She was in you pack wasn't she?"

"Leave it alone Scott, don't drag her into your shit."

Derek was gone before Scott could utter another word.


	17. 16: Derek

**AN: We're getting there, I promise! These next couple chapters I'm going to try to post quick and close together because feel like they are so tightly link together, which yeah, they are all linked but the next few especially. Then I'm going to need a bit to write ahead again because I almost have everything I've prewritten typed up now.**

 **Happy Reading!**

 **Disclaimer: Don't own Teen Wolf.**

 **Chapter 16- Derek**

Derek pulled out his phone as he reentered the house, opening his conversation with Kori which had mostly been a back and forth of him asking if she was okay and her saying she was fine.

 **What do you want for dinner?** He tapped out the messaged, hitting send.

 _ **?**_ Kori responded.

Derek rolled his eyes. **What, are you bailing on me now? Dinner. Day after the game. Ring a bell?**

 _ **Oh, yeah. I forgot, lol. Sorry, no I'm not bailing**_

 **So what do you feel like?**

 _ **Whatever. Diner maybe?**_

 **Sounds good to me. Time?**

 _ **Whatever works for you :)**_

Derek shook his head at Kori's use of emoji's. **8 good?**

 **:D**

 **Stop it.**

 **:P**

 **Kori.**

 **:|**

 **Seriously, stop it.**

 **:'(**

 **Knock it off or you're eating alone.**

Derek smiled to himself, feeling like he won when Kori didn't reply.

He headed upstairs to clean up the mess he'd made in the office with the research he had spread out over the desk, research that still frustrated him because he still couldn't get any answers. He stacked up the, basically irrelevant, articles to one side of the desk, keeping it apart from the other bit of research he'd been doing. He sat at the desk with a heavy exhale as he picked up the journal he found in the vault and opened it up, his reading interrupted by the buzzing of his phone in his pocket.

 **3 :D**

Derek rolled his eyes, putting his phone back in his pocket with a smile. _She's something else,_ he thought fondly.

He brought his attention back to the leather journal in his hand, opening it up to the first page and skimming through it. It turned out the journal was a handbook or sorts, one the elders used to refer to and lend to new bitten wolves or born wolves struggling with control. There was a little information about everything a wolf would need to know about themselves. Derek flipped through until he reached the pages about Bonded Pairs.

Some of what he read he could remember his mother telling him when he was younger, like the strength the wolves could provide to each other and how the connection would form almost instantly without either realizing it. It mentioned the coming of age part she had also spoken of and written in her own journal. As Derek read the words in front of him, making connections between them and his own life, he began to change his mind on the whole True Mate legend. He remembered feeling a spark ignite within him the first time Hannah had brought Kori over just a few days after she was born. The journal said that the bond would begin to form upon first sight and contact, regardless of age. That explained why Derek always had the need and drive to protect Kori, even when he was little.

At 17, the draw to one another becomes stronger. If the mates are the same age the grow together; a Bonded Pair is more recognizable to their pack once they reach Age, the member sensing the strength between the two wolves. There is never a question of what it is that is happening to them because it gets explained or brought to light by another pack member.

Derek thought about when he had turned 17, he reached out to Kori that night calling her and talking with her for over an hour until he realized she needed to sleep. There was a five-year difference between them, so she was just 12 at the time, it wasn't like he was suddenly attracted to her. That would be wrong, seriously wrong. But he just really missed her all of a sudden and had needed to know that how she was doing. At the time, he didn't think much of it. They usually spoke on each other's birthdays, or in the past before leaving Beacon Hills they would see each other.

But the words in the book, so carefully written by one of his ancestors, told him it was more than that. They described an emptiness that one cared with them when they have been separated from their True Mate that would intensify after they've reached Age. There was little to no doubt in Derek's mind that he held that emptiness they spoke of and it seemed to grow each year after he had turned 17. That was, until he came home. Suddenly the emptiness faded, he hadn't really thought about it or noticed it, but once Kori came barreling into his arms he felt…whole. He had felt more at easy since seeing Kori, able to sleep better with the exception of the previous night. He used to wake up in a cold sweat, having nightmares where Kori would be crying out to him but he couldn't get to her no matter how hard he'd tried. Some of them she was trapped in the fire with his family, he'd be standing on the front lawn as the flames lit up the night and stretched to the sky. Her face in the window, crying, as she pleaded for him to run. When he was jolted awake, his first instinct was to call her and make sure she was okay. He figured it was just because he had just seen a twisted reality where she died or was in an agonizing pain that he couldn't save her from. His desire to hear her voice wasn't just because of the nightmare though, it was the Bond tugging at him.

He shook his head, the realization of this beginning to overwhelm him. But, he had begun to notice things about Kori that he hadn't really seen before. All things that he had already knew about her, came into a sharper focus. Her heart beat for one, quickly became a distinct soundtrack to him. Some that sounded so unique he could pick it out of a crowd, that was part of how he'd been able to locate her in a house full of people. Her hair used to be just brown to him, but now when he looked at her he noticed that it wasn't just a flat color. Her hair had this beautiful natural wave, soft and flowing with just a touch of caramel highlights and a haze of red almost unnoticeable. And her eyes, once just green were now an intoxicating seafoam color with flex of a deeper jade. He caught himself more than once in the short time he'd been back, silently admiring the sway of her hips. Everything about her hitting him with much more detail; her hair, her smile, her laugh. She was smart, strong, funny, brave, beautiful. Again, all this he already knew but, it all seemed different now.

Derek was so wrapped up in his thoughts he hadn't been paying attention to the time and was yanked from his own mind at the sound of his phone blaring. 8:13 PM it read, above Kori's name.

 _Have I really been in her for that long?_ Derek thought looking out the window to find that the sun had set.

"H-hello?" He stammered, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

"Who'sblowing off who now Hale?"

"No, I'm on my way on. Sorry. Lost track of time." He said quickly, closing the book and standing from the desk. "I'll be there in 10."

"Ugh! You've already made me wait, look if you're busy we can like do this another night. It's ok."

"No!" He said sharply, suddenly aching to see her. "No, just don't leave. I'm coming. Promise you won't leave?" Derek asked, praying he didn't sound as desperate as he believed he did.

"Fine." She said with a sigh. "You owe me coffee after though. And not just coffee, like a giant espresso drink like extra foam and whipped cream and its going to be a mouthful to say when ordering and _you_ have to order it."

Derek smiled. "Okay, deal. "I'm leaving now."

"You're the worst. Bye."

Derek darted down the stairs to grab his jacket, his heart fluttering. He stopped with his hand on the door knob, stupid grin on his face and heart actually fluttering.

 _What the fuck._ He thought with a groan, smiling falling as he stepped outside.

"I am so screwed." He muttered to himself as he trotted to his car.

He got in and drove off, totally oblivious to the tumbling of an old Jeep pulling up to his house as he drove away.


	18. 17: DerekKori

**AN: I think you'll like this one. Just sayin'. So, like I said there may be little lull in the next couple updates. I fell a little behind in writing and only have one chapter written out after this one. I want to get a couple more in. Shouldn't been too long. But to make up for it I though I'd post the previous chapter and this one back to back.**

 **Happy reading!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Wolf.**

 **Chapter 17- Derek/Kori**

 **-Derek-**

Derek was pulling up outside the diner less than 10 minutes after leaving his house. He pulled into a spot in front, facing the windows. His headlights shining inside, landing on Kori sitting at a booth smiling at something on her phone. He sat there for another minute watching her, until she turned her head and met his gaze. Her smile grew, waving at him before turning her attention back to her phone. His stomach flipped.

"Get it together Hale. It's just Kori. Pain in the ass, gets under your skin, Kori. That's it." Derek exhaled sharply before climbing out of his car.

He smiled politely at the waitress as he entered and walked over to Kori's booth.

"Hey!" She beamed at him. "Less than 10 minutes, you made good time."

Derek smirked, sitting across from her. "Do I get a reward for the expedited time?"

"How about I order my own latte?" She proposed with a quirked eyebrow.

"Thank god, deal." He reached over, snatching the menu out of her hand.

"Hey!" She protested, reaching to take it back. " _Derek_!"

"You've been here almost 20 minutes and don't know what you're ordering?"

"I was waiting for _you_!" Kori surged forward, grabbing at the menu as Derek pulled it back away from her stretched out arms.

"Why do you even need it? You're going to get either chicken fingers or grilled cheese because you're still 8."

"You don't know that! They have good burgers here."

"Ok, have you ever had one?" Derek asked, eyeing her.

Kori paused. "No. But I've heard they're good. Give it back jackass." She said with a laugh as he grinned at her. " _Fine_."

Derek smirked at her in triumph, opening the menu back up to look it over. In an instant, before he had time to react, she was diving in beside him reaching at the menu again. He held it high above his head and out of her reach, laughing as she hopped in the seat grabbing at it.

"Damn, you've got short arms." He laughed.

"Why are you like this?" She asked leaping again.

Keeping his arms over his head, Derek turned to Kori, their faces inches apart. Her eyes locked on his and suddenly he forgot how to speak. Kori reached again, successfully taking the menu from his hands.

"Victory!" She exclaimed, removing herself from practically sitting in his lap, but staying on his side of the booth. "I'm thinking pancakes."

 **-Kori-**

Derek was distracted; he stared into her eyes and was distracted. Kori hoped he hadn't heard her heart skip a beat. She would have loved to stay staring into his hazel-green eyes but there was an important mission at hand here. She recovered quicker than he had at their sudden proximity. She reclaimed the stolen menu and began to babble about breakfast, hoping it keep Derek from over analyzing anything.

"What can I get for you two tonight?" Asked a waitress in her mid-forties with a pleasant smile.

"Can I get a turkey club, no tomato?" Derek asked, sound slightly unfocused.

"Sure thing, and for you darling?" She asked, turning to Kori.

Kori hesitated, forgetting what she'd wanted. "Oh, um…can I get chicken finger and fries well done please?"

"And two sweetened Iced Teas?" Derek added.

"Absolutely, I'll put this right in for you two."

"Thank you." Both Kori and Derek said as the waitress went to the kitchen.

Derek nudged Kori's side, an amused smile on his face. "Seriously, after all that you still just got chicken fingers?"

Kori shifted a little, turning to look at Derek to find him staring down at her intently. She felt her cheeks beginning to flush and quickly turned her head away.

"I like chicken fingers." She said innocently.

"Kori?" A voice carried over to them as someone approached.

"Oh, hey Lyds." Kori smiled, giving her friend a wave.

Lydia came over, inviting herself to sit across from them, Jackson following behind her.

Kori felt Derek tense next to her. "Uh, Derek. This is my friend Lydia and her boyfriend Jackson."

Jackson threw Kori a flirtatious look with a wink, a gesture she was used to and mostly ignored because it was just something he did to piss her off. But it didn't go unnoticed by Derek, who didn't find it as easy to ignore. He brought an arm up; wrapping it around Kori's should and shot Jackson a glare.

"So, this is the guy you're blowing Luke off for?"

Derek's body went completely rigid next to her, posed for attack. Kori could smell the rage coming of him and felt an ache in her head behind her eyes.

 _What the hell._ She thought, pushing the twinge of pain back.

Her hand unconsciously moved to his leg, squeezing lightly willing him to relax.

"Oh, whatever," Lydia said, waving off Jackson's comment. "It turns out Luke is a delusional asshole anyway. He needs an ass kicking. Derek here seems to be a _much_ better fit." She winked at Kori, who shook her head. "We're gonna go, we're trying to catch a movie. Just stopped in for a bite then saw you two as we were leaving and wanted to say hi. Have fun you two."

Lydia and Jackson headed out, leaving Kori and Derek alone again, their food coming out shortly after.

"Are you okay?" Kori asked, squeezing Derek's leg again to get his attention.

He looked down at her, arm still draped around her shoulders and nodded slowly. "Yeah. That guy was kind of an asshole. And he's got a thing for you."

"Jackson? Nah, that's just Jackson being…well _Jackson_. He's just pissed that his charms and looks never did anything for me. I think was the first woman he's ever come in contact with that didn't swoon at the mere _sight_ of him. I _know_ I'm the only one to outright laugh in his face when he tried to hit on me." Kori began eating her meal with her other hand while her left sat on Derek's leg.

Derek looked back to his own plate, using the hand not around Kori to pick up his sandwich. "Well, I don't like it. He's trying to get a rise out of you. Or out of me."

"Like I said," She started, absent mindedly rubbing his leg to calm him. "That's just Jackson, he's easily ignored."

"Mm-hm." Derek grumbled.

The two ate their meals in comfortable silence, keeping their contact the whole time. His arm around her, which caused Kori to shift over more, leaning into him. Her hand on his leg. It felt natural to the both of them they didn't even really notice they were still touching.

They were finishing their dinners and Derek reached over, stealing a fry off Kori's plate. She smacked his hand and threw him a glare.

"What? Yours are better." He said with a smirk.

"What?! They're literally the same thing Derek, that makes no sense at all!"

Derek shrugged. "The truth doesn't always make sense."

"Who are you? Fucking Confucius? Eat your own damn food."

Their waitress approached them with a smile. "You two are probably the cutest couple to walk in here that I've ever had the pleasure of helping."

"Oh, um no-" Kori stuttered, her cheeks burning as they began to redden.

The waitress laughed softly. "Sorry honey, I didn't mean to put you on the spot like that. Here's your check. Take your time." She told them with a knowing smile.

Kori's face still felt hot, she looked down and yanked her hand off Derek's leg as if she just realized it was there and the sudden contact burned her skin.

"Uh, I should go. I have some things to go through for the paper."

Derek nodded, grabbing the check and nudging her. "Scoot." He climbed out of their booth after her, moving to the front counter to pay the bill. Derek pushed the door open, letting Kori out before him,

They walked up beside his car, Kori stopped and turned to him with a shy smile, her cheeks still slightly flushed. "So, I'll see you later. Thanks for dinner even if you _were_ late."

Her tone is tight and strain as she tried to act as if everyone around them didn't just think they were on a date together. But Derek had been oddly quiet, and his expression was soft, hard to read. Was he smiling a little? He probably liked when she was embarrassed because he's an ass.

He nodded again, leaning against the driver side door of his car. The way he looked at her, Kori felt fresh heat creeping across her cheeks again. Why was he looking at her like that? Like he was seeing her for the first time. Eyes soft, head tilted slightly.

 _What is he doing? Maybe he's having a stroke._

"Okay, so…bye!" She said quickly, turning to leave.

She only took about two steps before something snagged her wrist. Before she could turn to see what she'd caught herself on or prepare for an attack, she was being pulled back and spun around with her back being pressed against Derek's car.

"Wha-" She began to question, but her words were cut off with the pressure of Derek mouth against hers.

Her eyes widened in surprise, her body tensing at the sudden action. Derek's hand reached up to cup the side of her face while tilting her head back. His other hand moved to her hip, his fingers dipping beneath the hem of her shirt. Kori's skin felt like it was on fire where his fingers touched. He stepped in closer, pressing her tight against his own body and the Camaro. His hand moved through her hair, landing at the nape of her neck where his finger began to massage the soft tender skin there.

It was like a magic switch that sent a spark throughout Kori's body. She melted into his touch, her eyes falling shut with a soft moan. She put one hand at his waist, the other raking through his impossibly soft black locks.

Total and pure _bliss_ is the only thing Kori could think as the two stayed locked together against the black muscle*.

Several minutes passed before Derek slowly pulled away; pulling their lips apart with uneven breathing, he brought his forehead down to rest against hers with his eyes closed. Both hands now sat at her hips, the fabric of her shirt bunched in each fist. Kori's hands snaked around Derek, fingers laced together at the base of his neck. They stayed leaning against each other, holding one another up, for another couple minutes before either spoke.

"Sorry." Derek said, his voice sounding huskier than usual with a small smirk playing on his lips. Clearly not sorry.

"That was…" Kori wasn't even able to complete her thought, her mind still fuzzy and her body feeling like it was floating.

"Awkward?" Derek added uncertainly, pulling back to look down at her, his arms wrapping around her waist.

"Unexpected. Where…where did that come from? I mean, I'm not complaining but you had said I was too young."

"I knew it." He said, smile growing.

"Knew what?"

"That you still had a thing for me."

Kori rolled her eyes, pushing at his chest in a failed attempt to get him off her.

"I do _not_." She protested

Derek ducked his head down, his mouth brushing against her throat, a gruff chuckle coming from his chest when Kori let out a soft gasp.

"Lair." He said against her throat.

"You…god. You said…"

"You were 13." He said simply, his lips moving along her jaw.

"But…"

"Kori, you were 13." He said again, nipping just below her ear.

"And now?"

Derek pulled back, locking with Kori's emerald gaze.

"Now," He started, bringing a hand to the side of Kori's face, rubbing her cheek gently with his thumb. "You're not 13 anymore. You're not a kid, and…" Derek trailed off, lost in his own thoughts as he gazed down at the girl in his arms.

"And…what?"

"And things are just different now. Clearer."

"Clearer?" Kori asked suspiciously.

Derek sighed. "Some things have been…brought into new light for me the last couple days."

"What things?"

"I'll tell you, I promise. I just need to think of the best way to explain it I guess. Tomorrow?"

Kori nodded, stretching up to bring their lips together again. Derek wrapped his arm completely around her, lifting her feet off the ground as he held her against his body. She pulled herself higher up, wrapping her legs around his waist as he moved them toward the hood to set her down. Derek's mouth left hers to move back to her neck, she tilted her head to the side at the feeling of his teeth brushing against her skin. She had one hand bunched in his shirt on his shoulder and the other held onto his hair, holding him against her. She squeezed her eyes shut, letting out a gasp at the small pressure she felt when his teeth bit down gently on her neck.

"Derek…" She breathed out, pulling at his shirt, pulling it up so her hands could explore what was hidden beneath the fabric. Derek growled softly into Kori's neck. She pulled him closer her with her leg, being driven by desire and need now. Kori's hand tugged at his pants, pulling on the belt loops as she squirmed on the hood of the car.

The feeling of her claws against his skin woke Derek up, he pulled himself away disentangling himself from Kori's legs. He took several steps back, staring at her with a heaving chest. Her eyes looked back at him, glowing bright green.

"Rein it in Kori." He said with an uneasy laugh, leaning against the car behind him, wipping a hand over his own face.

"Sorry." She said shyly. "I just…Kind of lost it."

"I think that was my fault." He said, nodding at the mark on her neck.

Kori brought hand up, her fingers touching the tender skin. "You bit me." She said with a laugh. "You actually bit me."

Derek nodded. "Yeah…" He ran his hand through his hair. "That just sort of…happened. Did I hurt you?" He asked, stepping forward.

She held up her hand. "Stop. I think that…unless we want to give the people in there a show that maybe we need some distance."

Derek's eyes went wide as he looked into the diner. "Ugh, I completely forgot where we even were." He groaned.

Kori laughed at his embarrassment. "Yeah, I don't think anyone notice though." She smiled warmly at him. "I think I'm going to call it a night, before someone in there _does_ notice."

Derek nodded in agreement. "See you tomorrow?" He asked hopefully.

Kori hopped off the hood of the Camaro, backing away from it and Derek to avoid the risk of a possibly highly embarrassing, and most likely illegal, scene. And wouldn't that be embarrassing, getting brought into the station and having to explain to her uncle _why_ exactly she was there. "Yes. Tomorrow. I let you know when I get up, we can do breakfast or something. Hey, maybe go for a run? I haven't gone running through the trails on the property in _ages_."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll see you tomorrow." He moved forward but Kori stopped him from getting too close. "Right. People inside. Public place. You have a thing for biting. Leads to losing control. I got it."

"Hey! _You_ did the biting!"

"And _you_ liked it."

"I…" Kori paused, glaring at him. "Am going home." She finished with flushed cheeks

Kori grabbed her bike from the rack at the sideway and left the diner parking lot, shaking her head.

Derek laughed. "Dinner was great!" He called after her, he rolled his eyes as she threw up her hand and gave him the finger.

 ***** **CLARIFICATION** **: For those who are unaware, there is a string of American cars that were/are called Muscle Cars. The main ones being models such as the Mustang, Charger, Challenger, Chevelle, and the Camaro. Derek has a Camaro (as you know) therefore Derek and Kori were against "black muscle". Just another descriptor rather than just saying "the car" or "Derek's car". Just wanted to make sure that I didn't lose anyone with that.**


	19. 18: Derek

**Disclaimer: Don't own Teen Wolf**

* * *

 **Chapter 18- Derek**

Derek slept better than he had in months, his night with Kori had not ended how he thought it would but he was glad it happened. When he pulled her into that kiss there hadn't been plan, his mind blanked out and something else took control. He saw her turn to leave but he just couldn't let her go. He _had_ to touch her, kiss her. It was an urge that went beyond want. Learning more about the True Mates and their bonds opened Derek's mind and allowed him to acknowledge how he felt about Kori. How he'd always felt about her if he were to be honest with himself. Once that happened, once he accepted it, it was like an open flood gate the minute he saw Kori.

He had been very aware of her hand resting on his leg throughout dinner and he loved the feeling of her leaning into him, like she just belonged there, while his arm rested around her shoulders. It might have been a slightly possessive gesture brought on by Jackson's open flirting, but it remained there until they left. She'd turned to walk away and before he knew what he was doing he had her pressed against his car.

He grinned the whole way back to the house, in a half dazed state. Sleep came easily for once, his mind clear and calm; any worries put on hold. He felt grounded for the first time in his life, it was a good feeling.

When he woke up the next morning he laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling, thinking about the previous night. Kori had been surprised at first but responded back the way Derek had hope she would. If there was any doubt before about his and Kori connection, it was shattered now. His mother once told him that when a true Bonded Pair meet and connect for the first time there is and ease that washes over them. He thought that she meant the actual meeting, but it was more than that. It had to do with a physical and emotional connection, which the previous night was the first time he and Kori had ever cross that boundary. Derek never felt more at ease than he did after kissing Kori; a full nights rest was proof of that.

His phone vibrated on the floor next to his bed, he reached down blindly with a smile, already knowing it was Kori.

 _ **Morning.**_

 **Morning? Kor, it's passed 10:30.**

 _ **Yeah. AM. Still morning for almost 90 minutes. :P**_

Derek rolled his eyes. **A little late for breakfast.**

 _ **Well, why didn't you wake me up?**_

He took a moment before responding. **You said you'd text me. Didn't want to interrupt your beauty rest.**

 _ **Derek Hale. Did you sleep until 10:30?**_

 **No.**

 _ **Bullshit.**_

 **I've been up.**

 _ **Yeah?**_

 **Yes.**

 _ **Since when?**_

… **9:45.**

 _ **Oh. My. GOD! You lazy ass!**_

Derek narrowed his eyes at the screen **Me? You're the one up at 10:30.**

 _ **Don't get all high and might about being up 45 MINUTES be before me Derek Samuel Hale!**_

 **Really, my middle name? You're breaking out the middle name on me?**

 _ **How did you sleep until 9:45? You're always up at like 6, cause you're insane.**_

 **Don't know, guess I was just tired.**

 _ **Well, whatever. Since you've already said it's too late to get breakfast, want to grab lunch?**_

 **Lunch sounds good.**

 _ **Alright, I'll head over in a bit :)**_

Derek didn't bother messaging back, figuring Kori was already up and getting showered. He rolled himself out of bed a few minutes later, throwing on a t-shirt and track pants, deciding to go on a quick run before Kori made it over. He did a short lap through the preserve, running past an old hollowed out tree Laura, Cora, Kori, and him used to play at when they were kids. Derek smiled as he passed it, thinking about the times spent there.

He laughed at the memory of Kori chasing him around it when she was about 7 years old, trying to give him a kiss on the cheek which he of course didn't want.

"Get away from me Kori!"

Kori giggled hysterically, running behind Derek as he rounded the tree stump. "Come back here Derek! You saved Princess Carlie from Peter! All hero's get a token when they save the princess, don't you know anything?"

"God, I should have let Peter burn the stupid doll!" Derek latched onto a nearby tree, climbing up and away from the eager 7-year-old.

"Have it your way! But when we get married one day, don't think I won't remember this Derek Hale!"

"You're 7 Kori, why are you even thinking about marriage? I'd never marry you anyway! It'd be like marrying Cora! Go bug someone else!"

Kori had stuck her tongue our at Derek and scampered away.

Derek was only gone about a half hour and jumped into the shower he'd managed to get running to rise off quick before going up to change in fresh clothes. Walking into his room, he grabbed his phone off the ben and saw a message about 10 minutes old from Kori.

 _ **Be there in 20.**_

Putting the phone back down, he grabbed pants and a shirt and threw them on. He made his way back downstairs, freezing half way down.

His eyes shot to the front door at the sound of foot steps on the porch, shadows passing in front of the window.

There was a knock on the door. "Mr. Hale? Are you in there? We've gotten reports of someone on the premises. Could you please step out here sir?"

Derek gritted his teeth and took a deep breath before opening the door.

"Sheriff Stilinski, what can I do for you?" He asked, looking from the Sheriff to the deputy.

"Would you mind stepping outside, son?"

Derek nodded, following the Sheriff off the porch, with the deputy falling in step behind him. His body went rigid, his instincts telling him this wasn't just a friendly visit.

"Mr. Hale," the Sheriff began. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about the death of a young women a few nights ago would you? The body was found not far from here, I hoped that if you'd been spending sometime out here that maybe you would have seen something."

"No sir, I only just got back to town the other days. I've heard some whispers in town but nothing more than anyone else would know. I try to stay away from the gossip.

The Sheriff nodded. "I'm sure you know all to well the dangers of gossip."

"Yes, I do. I've been at the center of it more than a few times."

"Doing something special over there?" He asked, nodded to the side of the house. "Seems like you're turning some dirt over there, digging something up."

"Or burying something." The deputy said with a suspicious tone.

Derek's eyes fell to the spot he and Kori had just laid Laura to rest. He shrugged in response to the deputy's obvious accusation, trying to seem unconcerned. "I haven't been around here much, I couldn't tell you who's doing what out here. I only came here today to check on the house, I haven't been back since the fire."

Sheriff Stilinski nods again. "So, you aren't staying here then?"

"Sheriff Stilinski, look at this place. Do you think it looks stable enough to live in? It looks like it could collapse at any moment."

"So, you don't mind if we have a look around?" Asked the deputy.

Derek eyed him carefully. "Go right ahead." He said tensely.

The deputy nodded, turning to wave forward a couple more officers. Derek watched as one of them walked to the side of the house, shovel in hand, and began to dig up the loose dirt. He tensed slightly as they worked, unable to do anything to stop them. If he'd said no, it'd look suspicious and they'd do it anyway. Technically, they didn't even need his permission to search the property, Sheriff Stilinski was just being polite.

Off to the side, Derek's eyes fell on a ragged looking blue Jeep, leaning against it was the new wolf. His eyes narrowed at Scott, who was looking everywhere but at Derek and the Sheriff.

"Hey Sheriff, we've got something here."

Sheriff Stilinski raised his hand in acknowledgement, nodding his head to indicate for Derek to follow him, which he did with his arms across his chest.

They walked over to the side of the house, the Sheriff glancing down into the hole. "Well," He says, turning to Derek. "Sorry Mr. Hale, but I'm going to have to bring you down to the station."

Derek stepped closer, playing off like he was clueless. "Oh god, Laura?"

"You know his woman?"

"I mean, she _looks_ like my sister. I hadn't spoken to her in a few days." Derek did his best to look shocked and grief stricken, which wasn't too hard to do since it was all still very fresh, and he hadn't really dealt with the loss of his sister yet. "She's why I'm in town in the first place, she checks in everyday with it just being me and her now. I got worried. I-I can't believe this."

The Sheriff frowned, looking genuinely sorry for him and looking like a man who, at the moment, wasn't too fond of his job. He placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "I'm very sorry Mr. Hale. I really hate to do this, especially now, but I have got to ask you to com with me. Sorry son, but you're under arrest."

Derek's jaw tightened, but he didn't resist. He let the Sheriff bring his hand behind his back and cuff them in place. He was led to one of the police cruisers by another deputy, his gaze meeting Scotts several feet away as he was put in the back of the car.

Moments after he was set inside, the front door was pulled open and Kori cousin was throwing himself into the passenger seat. He twisted himself to look back at Derek.

"Look," He started. "Just so you know I'm not afraid of you." Derek just leveled him with a hard stare. "Okay, maybe I am. Doesn't matter." Derek rolled his eyes. "I just wanna know something. The girl you killed, she was a werewolf. She was a different kind, wasn't she? I mean she could turn herself into an actual wolf and I know Scott can't do that. Is that why you killed her?"

"Why are you so worried about me, when it's your friend who's the problem? When he shifts on the field, what to you think they're gonna do? Just keep cheering him on? I can't stop him from playing, but you can. And trust me, you want to. There's more at steak here than he realizes."

Stiles is ripped from the front seat, pulled out of the car by the Sheriff and dragged away from the cruiser. After the Sheriff finishes chastising Stiles, he turns back to the cruiser, getting behind the wheel. As he drove out toward the toad, Derek turned his head to see Kori at the edge of the woods, her eyes wide as the looked from him then to the dug-up ground at the house. He saw her eyes scan around, falling on Stiles and Scott at the Jeep and watched them fill with anger.

The cruiser pulled down the old driveway, Kori fading from sight. Derek was left with a tightness in his chest, Kori's anger rolling into his own body. He closed his eyes, leaning his head back with a sigh.

He hoped she didn't do anything stupid.


	20. 19: Kori

**NA: Sorry for the short break. I fell into a black hole of Sterek and have been reading that and I'd gotten an idea for one of my own that I was working on (and am about finished with cause it's a short one). SORRY! I have like...4 other chapters written out ready to be typed and reviewed. I'm switching my focus and will be updating more regularly. PROMISE. But you should check out my Sterek fic, its my first one and I sort of love the concept. It's called The Spark of a Wolf.**

 **Okay, Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: Don't own Teen Wolf.**

* * *

 **Chapter 19- Kori**

"Stiles!" Kori yelled, stomping up to where her cousin stood with Scott.

"Kori? What are you doing here?"

" _What_ did you do, Stiles?" She demanded, striding within inches of Stiles' face.

"What do you _mean_?" He asked, stepping back with his face twisted in confusion.

" _Why_ is Derek leaving here in the back of your dad's cruiser?!"

"What do you care?" Stiles asked defensively, a waiver in his tone.

"Because they know each other." Scott interjected.

" _What_?" Stiles whipped his head back and forth, looking between his best friend and cousin. "Kori, he's a _murderer_! You need to stay away from him! He's _dangerous_!"

"Stiles, no idea _what_ you're talking about!"

"There's half of a dead body _buried_ on the side of his house! A house, by the way, that is _literally_ falling apart. It's a little creepy that he's even staying here, to be honest."

"Stiles." Kori spoke through clenched teeth, a warning in her tone.

"Kori," Scott started with a stern look spread across his face. "Come on, it looks pretty sketchy. I mean the girl is literally buried in his yard. It's obvious he put her there, and why go through the trouble of hiding the body if he wasn't the one to kill her?"

"You are both so _clueless_! You have _no_ idea what's going on here and you're jumping to _dangerous_ conclusions."

"He's the _dangerous_ one!" Stiles retorted.

Kori narrowed her eyes at him. "No. _He_ is." She said, jabbing a finger at Scott who stepped back with a frown. "Because he won't listen; isn't that right, _Scott_?"

"Huh? Scott, what happened?" Stiles tipped his head in Scott's direction.

" _Hunters_. That's what. And guess who saved his ass. _Derek_."

Stiles shook his head, clearing his mind and focus his thoughts. "That doesn't matter, they found another body Kori. Derek's the only one out here, just 'cause he saved Scott doesn't mean he's a good guy."

"Another body?" Kori asked, heart sinking.

"Yeah, male and looks to be about our age. The ID hasn't been released yet which means either they don't know or he's a minor." Stiles said solemnly.

"Derek _didn't_ do it Stiles."

"But he's-"

"I get your train of thought," Kori interrupted, taking a calming breath before continuing. "But, it's _not_ him, trust me."

"Then _who_ is it?" Stiles questioned skeptically.

"I…I don't know, but I promise you, it _wasn't_ Derek." She turned to leave, looking at Scott and Stiles over her shoulder. "He can help you Scott, he's actually a really good teacher."

"Where are you going?" Stiles called out to her.

"I'm going to try and fix the mess _you_ created!"

Kori walked through the doors of the police station, walking all the way there from the reserve. The long walk gave her time to think; she thought of Derek, angry and annoyed, hopeful that she could talk him into not killing Stiles or Scott. She thought about an excuse she could use to justify her being at the station since it wasn't normal for her to just drop by. She thought about the body Stiles said was found; a boy their age. What was he even doing out there in the middle of the night? Did she know him?

When she walked into the station, Debbie greeted her with a warm smile. "Hey sweetie, what brings you in?"

"Uh, I need to…" Kori sighed, best to be as honest as possible, no excuse seemed to be solid enough and she'd have to remember it later; which seemed unlikely with everything going on. "I need to talk to my Uncle about Derek Hale."

Debbie stared at her with wide eye, a nervous tone to her voice. "Um-okay. He's, uh, he's in his office; but sweetie, why would you need to talk to him about _Hale_?"

"Because, he didn't _do_ anything." Kori said with a glare; she was getting tired of everyone assuming the worst of Derek and damning him without any solid evidence.

She walked off, down the hall to her uncle's office; as she approached the end of the hall, she caught a glimpse of the bars of the holding cells off to the left; stepping back she saw Derek sitting in one of the cells, eyes closed with his back against the wall. She through a quick glance around, making sure no one was watching her and ducked into the holding room.

Derek's eyes snapped open as soon as she stepped through the threshold, meeting her gaze as she walked in. He sat up straight, moving to stand in front of the bars with his hand grasping the metal rods. His eyes darted around, looking behind her.

"What are you _doing_ here?" He whispered harshly.

"Getting you out of that cell, what else?"

Derek rolled his eyes with an exasperated groan. "Kori-"

"I'm not busting you our Derek, geez."

She walked up to the cell curling her hands over his. "I'm going to talk to my uncle."

Derek visibly relaxed under her touch. "And tell him what, Kori?"

"That you're innocent."

Derek raised an eyebrow at her. "And how will you explain that you know this?"

"I was planning on just telling him the truth, actually." She said honestly with a shrug; Derek tilted his head with narrowing eyes. "Not the whole truth, obviously, like he would believe it anyway."

"So, how much are you going to tell him then?"

"That we have a history, that we've known each other for a long time because of mom. That you didn't kill Laura, you couldn't have because you didn't even get into town until the following morning. They'll have an ID soon; they'll see she's your sister. Why would you kill her if it's just you two? There's no way he could think you killed her."

"He already knows."

"What?"

"He knows its Laura, he knew at the house."

"And my uncle still arrested you?" Kori's eyebrows scrunched together as she frowned.

Derek shrugged. "It _does_ look pretty bad Kor, he didn't have a choice." Kori's jaw twitched, gritting her teeth. "What about the other body they found? He's no relative of mine, and they're already scrapping together what they can about me to prove I at least have the capability to kill someone, in court that's all they'll need. They want to pin this other one on me too. Location alone could be enough to connect me to it."

"How do you know about that?" Kori questioned.

"It's all anyone's talking about out there." Derek nodded his head to the doorway. "A few of the deputies are saying they already have the killer locked up. They're convinced it was me; they'll always think it was me. Even if you get me out, clear my name, it won't matter. You…you shouldn't talk to your uncle, don't get yourself tied up in my shit. If anyone gets wind of you helping me or having any connection to me…" Derek shook his head, letting his eyes fall closed. "I won't have you get dragged into this and be thought of as an accessory to murder."

"It's not just _your_ _shit_ , Derek. I can't be an accessory to a murder you didn't commit! I'm not letting you take the heat for something you didn't do." Kori leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss to Derek's hand. "You'll be out by dinner." She said, turning away.

"Kori, wait!" Derek called, but she was already gone.


	21. 20: Kori

**AN: This is getting long. All good. Seems to be flowing well enough. Thanks everyone for the reviews and comments of encouragement! I'll have another 1-2 chapters up between today and tomorrow!**

 **Happy reading!**

 **Disclaimer: Don't own Teen Wolf.**

 **20- Kori**

"Uncle Noah?" Kori asked, knocking gently on the open door to his office.

He looked up from his desk, peering at her over his glasses. "Hey kiddo, nice surprise to see you here. Did you stop by to grab lunch with your favorite uncle?" He asked with a smile, waving her in. Kori smiled, closing the door as she walked in. "Uh-oh." Noah said, leaning back in his chair. "Closed door means something serious, what's going on?"

Kori took a seat across his desk, taking a breath while she collected her thoughts. "It's about Derek." She said, her eyes meeting her uncles over a stack of paperwork. Noah raised a questioning eyebrow. "Hale? The guy you have in a holding cell down the hall?"

"Yes, I'm familiar with who you're talking about. But, _why_ do you want to talk about him?"

"You have to release him." Kori told him firmly.

Noah sighed, leaning forward at his desk to rest his elbows on the edge of the flat surface. "Kori, he's a suspect in an on-going murder investigation. We have the evidence to hold him, I can't just let him go; not with what we've found."

"But he didn't do it. You _know_ who that girl is, right?"

Noah sighed again, sounding remorseful. "Yes, Laura Hale. I know."

"So _why_ would he kill his own sister?" She asked, sounding desperate to get her uncle to listen to reason. "It's just the two of them, you _know_ that. He's lost everything, why would he take more from himself?"

"Kori," He started, sounding exhausted. "I don't know, we're following where the evidence leads us. And right now, it's pointing us to Derek Hale."

"Screw the evidence!" She shouted, standing up. "Derek didn't _do_ this, he didn't kill Laura _or_ that other boy!"

Noah stared up at Kori for a moment before getting up and walking around his desk. He came up to her, placing his hands on her shoulders, staring down at her with sad eyes. "I get it Kori, what you're doing; why you're doing it. You have a connection to him in a way, both suffering from loss because of the same accident. But you don't really know how he's coped with losing his family, something in him could have snapped."

Kori shook her head. "That's not what happened, he didn't do anything Uncle Noah."

"Either way, I can't just let him walk out of here; the medical examiner is on his way to the hospital now and the body will be there when he arrives. He'll do his examination and we'll know more then, until we do Hale stays put."

"This isn't right!" Kori dropped back down into the chair. "He's innocent, he shouldn't be locked up here!"

"Kori," Noah leaned back on his desk, arms folded across his chest. "Why are you so invested in this? In Hale?"

"Because, it's wrong to keep someone innocent locked up." Her uncle stared down at her, unconvinced and sensing something more to her defense of the man in the cell. With a sigh, Kori pressed back in the chair and stared up at her uncle. "And maybe I know him a little better than you think."

"How _much_ butter?" He asked sternly, his eyes narrowing.

"A lot. Derek's like family. So is…so _was_ , Laura. I talk to him almost daily. I know exactly how he's coping with everything, because I've been there with him; I've been there for him. And I know for a fact that he was no where near here when Laura was killed because as of 3 AM on my birthday he was not in Beacon Hills. You can check my phone, I called him. And when was the other victim killed?"

Noah shook his head, knowing he shouldn't be telling her anything. "ME put time of death between 8:30 and 10 last night."

"Derek met me for dinner just after 8:15 last night; we finished and left after 10:30. I was with Derek Uncle Noah, he didn't kill anyone."

Noah robbed his eyes with a heavy sigh. "Kori," He groaned. "I can't deal with this. You. Him. I just…The physical evidence is too strong right now. He stays _put_. And _you_ ," He paused, moving back around to the other side of the desk to sit back down. "Stay away from this, before someone pegs you as an accessory."

"But-"

"No, Kori. We're done discussing this. I don't want to see you near him, do you understand me?" Noah's voice was stern, his face unweaving. Kori opened her mouth to protest. " _Home_ , Kori. _Now_."

"Uncle Noah-"

"Deputy Hill?" Noah called out, getting the deputy's attention through the closed door.

The deputy stepped forward, opening the door. "Sir?"

"Would you mind showing my niece out?"

Deputy Hill nodded. "Sure thing, sir."

"See you at dinner." He told her before she was escorted out of the office.

Deputy Hill walked her down the hall, passed the holding cells. She looked in and met Derek's gaze. He gave her a soft smile as she passed by.

" _It'll be okay Kori."_ His voice cared over to her ears, only loud enough for her to pick up.

Sure. Derek's under arrest for murder, even if he's somehow cleared she cause even see him. Even being part wolf, trying to evade her uncle when he's the sheriff of the town, isn't the easiest thing in the world. Someone would see her and report it back to him. She and Derek sort of had some things to talk about.

She was going to _kill_ Stiles. And Scott.

 _Idiots._


	22. 21: Derek

**Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Wolf.**

* * *

 **Chapter 21- Derek**

Kori had tried, she really did, but Derek knew no matter what she said, he'd still be spending at least a couple nights in a cell. The sheriff was right, the physical evidence against him was pretty strong, especially since they probably searched the house after he was arrested; it was clear someone was staying there, and he had been the one to answer the door when they knocked. He didn't blame the police, they were just doing their job; of course, they had some help from a very intrusive 16-year-old, who he planned on strangling the next time he saw him. But the police weren't in the wrong here. Sure, they _were_ wrong, but if he was a cop he'd do the same thing. There was a body buried on the side of the house and it was clear that he was staying there, really what else could the police do. He could respect them, if this were something other than supernatural he would be happy about their diligence in finding out who had killed his sister. That would be simpler, but life wasn't simple; not for him.

His weekend was shot now, thanks to the idiot and the moron. No lunch or dinner with Kori. No explaining anything to her. No talking about what happened outside the diner. No telling her about this whole bonded pair thing. No Kori at all. It had been 24 hours since she was at the station and he last saw her, and he was already feeling antsy; another effect of the True Mate bond he'd read about, the constant drive to be near their other half was always present.

He laid on his back, arms pillowed under his head, staring up at the ceiling.

It was mid afternoon when a deputy entered the holding room, keys dangling from his hand. "Hale." He addressed him as he approached the bars.

Derek sat up, giving him a quizzical look. "Am I being released?"

"ME found animal hair on both victims, charges are being dropped. You're free to go." He said flatly, almost sounding disappointed.

Derek stood up and walked through the open cell, following the deputy out to get his belongings. After signing some papers, confirming he was receiving all the items he was forced to had over upon booking, he was ready to go.

"Um, can I ask something?" He turned to the two deputies working at the front desk.

One of the deputies raised an eyebrow at him. "I guess, though that doesn't mean you'll get an answer."

Derek smirked. "Fair enough. So, what kind of animal hair was found on the victims?" Silence met his question, which wasn't a surprise to him. "Come on," He said, flashing a friendly smile. "You guys had me under arrest for the murder of my own sister, which turned out to not even be a murder. It's not as if there's an investigation going on anymore, nothing that you have to keep from the public. Plus, there was the whole wrongly accusing me thing."

The deputy that had escorted him from his cell rolled his eyes. "Wolf hair. The medical examiner found wolf hair on the bodies and ruled both deaths animal attacks."

"Wolf hair?" If there was wolf hair found on Laura, that could have been something left from one of her shifts. Easy enough to explain. But the chances of the other victim being not only a werewolf but one that can do a full shift, like his mother and Laura, weren't very high. Wolf hair on him was harder to explain and meant that there was another player in town, probably an alpha. Scott's alpha might not have just been passing through town.

"Yeah," He made a face. "Weird, huh? I didn't even think there _were_ wolves in California, but I guess they're hanging around somewhere."

"I guess so." Derek gave both deputies a nod and walked out of the station.

Walking outside, he stopped in his tracks surprised to find his Camaro sitting in the parking lot. A smile crept across his face as he stepped up to the passenger side, climbing in. "Aren't you supposed to be staying away from me?" Derek questioned with a quirked eyebrow.

"Eh, I was never really good at listening, Uncle Noah really should know better." Kori beamed at Derek.

He shook his head, closing the door. "How'd you know they'd cut me loose? It only just happened."

Kori shrugged. "I _may_ have been sitting our here all morning. And I _may_ have snuck into my uncle's office last night and read the ME's report he brought home. It was too late last night for them to let you go, plus I think a few of the officers wanted to keep you a little longer because they just don't trust you or the ME's report. I knew it'd be sometime today that they'd release you, though to be honest I thought it would have been closer to 10, not after 3. So, here I am."

Derek smirked. "Here you are."

"So, do you want to just go home, or did you want to grab something to eat? Are you hungry?" We could-"

Derek learn over the center console, cupping Kori's cheek in his hand cutting off her babbling with the press of his lips to hers.

"W-what was that for?" Kori asked Derek, slowly pulling away.

Derek stroked her cheek with his thumb. "For helping. And not listening to your uncle…or me." He told her, the corner of his mouth turning up. "Let's grab something and bring it back to the house. There's something we need to talk about and I have something to help explain it a little better."

"Ok, what is it?" Kori asked, putting the car in gear.

"It's hard to explain, well hard to believe I guess. I'll show you when we get back to the house."

Kori nodded, pulling out of the parking lot, tires screeching on the asphalt as she merge in with the passing traffic.

"Woah, easy! _My_ car, remember?"

Kori rolled her eyes, glancing over at Derek. "Oh _relax_ , this thing has power and it _needs_ to be used. You drive like a grandma, I think you should probably just hand this baby over to me for good."

"I think you should pull over and give me my car back." Derek grumbled.

Kori reached forward, turning up the radio. "What was that Der? Couldn't hear you!" She turned to him with a grin spread across her face.

Derek shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Unbelievable." He muttered as Kori sang along to the OneRepublic song she had playing through her phone. Derek let the song finish before reaching to turn the volume down again. "So, there was wolf hair found on Laura and the other victim."

"Wolf hair, that means…"

Derek nodded. "There's definitely another werewolf roaming around, an alpha. The one that turned Scott probably."

"So, it wasn't just someone passing through town, they're probably still here. Why?"

Derek shrugged, not knowing for sure. "Maybe they lost their pack and they're rebuilding. Laura could have been a threat to him, being an alpha herself and one capable of a full shift."

"You don't think he can do a full shift? But how would he be leaving wolf hair behind?"

"I'm not sure, it could be that he can shift further than I can; than Scott. There's stories of some alpha's being so hungry and obsessed with power that their shift is more animalistic but not a full wolf. Thriving on violence and death."

"Feral?"

"Most likely, yes."

"Hard to rein in, hard to talk to."

"Hard to track and find. The shifted and human forms will be so vastly different it'll be impossible to track him by scent."

Kori sighed, pulling into a diner. "Awesome. Just awesome."


	23. 22: Kori

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf.**

* * *

 **Chapter 22- Kori**

"I'm afraid to ask." Derek said, sitting beside Kori at the counter in the diner.

She turned to him, cocking her head to the side with her eyebrows drawn together. "Ask about what?"

"About what happened the other day after you saw me in the back of that cruiser and what happened after you left the station."

"Oh." Kori said, putting her focus back on her milkshake sitting in front of her. "That. Well, there's nothing really to say."

"No?" Derek asked, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.

"I mean, there's a _chance_ that my cousin has spent the better part of the day trying to figure out why his Jeep won't start, but _I_ certainly wouldn't know anything about that. And Scott is going to need to either walk to school or catch a ride with someone for a while, since I think somebody might have bent his bike frame. But yeah, no there's not much to say."

Derek smirked and shook his head. "You bent Scott's bike?"

"Who said _I_ did it, I said _someone_ did it. I haven't a clue as to who would do such a thing. I was at home last night from 4:40 until this morning when I left the house to come to the station and wait for you today at about 9:15." Kori said defensively. "Did I stop on my _way_ to the station? It's hard to say, a lot can happen in the 15 minute drive from the house to the station and I can't be bothered to remember it all, Derek."

"Right." Derek said with a soft chuckle.

Kori elbowed his side, smiling at him over her shoulder.

"Here you are sweetie." An older waitress came from the kitchen, setting two bags on the counter in front of Kori. "You two are all set to go, you have a wonderful day now, alright?" She said smiling at them as she went to check in on her other tables. Kori, grabbed the bags and led Derek back outside to the car.

Derek stepped around Kori as they walked outside, backing her up against the wall outside the diner; her arms at her sides while she continued to hold their food. He gazed down at her, smiling as he placed his hands on her hips, tugging her gently to his body; Kori smiled back, even laughing softly. Derek leaned in, his lips a fraction away from connecting with hers and Kori's eyes fell closed, waiting. Then the heat from his body and the closeness vanished, and she heard his laugh followed by the jingling of keys.

She snapped her eyes open, shooting Derek's triumphant face a glare. " _That_ , was bad form Hale. You sneaky bastard, how did you even manage that without me feeling you in my pocket?"

Derek laughed opening his door. "Come on, get in." Kori stayed in her place, feet planted firmly. "Stop pouting, the food is getting cold." He sighed, rolling his head back, walking back over to Kori. "Come on, Kor." He said, placing his hands on her hips again. She turned her head to the side when he leaned down. "Really?" He said in disbelief, sounding slightly amused still. "Oh, come on Kori." He said softly, running his nose along her jaw, seeking out _his_ spot. "You're not _really_ mad at me, are you?" Derek murmured into her throat, lips brushing against her neck.

Kori shivered in response, squealing when Derek lifted her off the ground and carried her to the car. "So unfair." She complained with a sigh when he placed her down and opened her door.

He smirked at her, giving her a quick kiss before rounding the car, back to his side.

Kori slid in with another sigh, rolling her eyes. "Don't think that just because you're stronger you can just drag me where ever you want."

Derek let out a low chuckle, glancing to her still pouting face as he pulled out of the parking lot. "Looks to me like I can."

"Yeah, well…See how easy it is next time. And don't be using your looks and shit to like…distract me. That's not playing fair."

Derek reached over, putting a hand on Kori's knee. "That's called _strategy,_ Kori."

Kori frowned at him. "That's called _cheating_ , Derek."

"You're telling me that you wouldn't do the _exact_ same thing?" He asked, quizzical eyebrow raised.

" _That's_ …not the point! The _point_ is you exploited a weakness, gained an unfair advantage, _and_ left me hanging!"

Derek laughed, shaking his head. "I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"Yeah," Kori took his hand in hers, threading their fingers together. "Well, you better."

They drove back to the shell that was the Hales mansion, talking idly about the most recent death found in the preserve. Kori told him that the ID still hadn't been released and despite Stiles' best efforts, Noah wouldn't crack.

"So it looks like it really might be a minor, it's probably someone I go to school with. If it is, it'll find its way all over the school; the kids there just have this way of getting information and spreading it that I'll never understand. I mean, Uncle Noah is keeping this one pretty close so I don't see how anyone would be able to get the name. But I'm sure someone has it already, someone close to the victim maybe."

"Other than you trashing his car, are you and your cousin okay?" Derek asked.

"Me and Stiles?" Kori clarified thoughtfully. "We'll be fine. He keeps overstepping, he'll learn."

"You know he's just doing what he thinks it right."

"Are you _seriously_ defending him? He got you thrown in _jail_ , Derek."

"It was just the holding cell at the police station, not really jail. And no, I'm not defending him. I'm just saying, given the information that he has,"

"Which is _none_." Kori interrupted.

" _Given the information that he has_ ," Derek repeated. "In his head he is doing what is right. He doesn't have all the information, it's all just second hand and he's out there trying to solve this thing that just started as some girl found dead in the woods."

Kori closed her eyes, taking a deep breath while she squeezed Derek's hand. "He had no business being out there. He could have been the one to get attacked the other night, both nights actually. It could have been him who was turned instead of Scott or it could have been him who ended up dead instead of this John Doe. That's what he's not getting here."

"I know." Derek told her softly, rubbing his thumb back and forth on the back of her hand.

"And then there's Scott, who helping getting you arrested rather than _taking_ your help working through all of these changes. You're the one that's going to help him learn control, not Stiles."

"Hey." Derek said, pulling up to the house. "Relax, okay? Like you said, they don't get it. Neither one is making a good judgement call here; they don't know everything or the extent of the danger out there waiting for them. Maybe we should tell them everything; tell them what we know, tell them about our history. Everything."

"How are you so calm about this? You were arrested, because of them."

"Yeah, and I'm not thrilled about that but Stiles is your cousin; your family. In his head, he's looking out for you too. I can respect that." He said with a sly smile.

Kori nodded, squeezing Derek's hand again. "You're kind of amazing, you know that?"

Derek leaned over the center console, kissing Kori's cheek with a tentative smile. "I'm okay sometimes. Come on, let's go inside. There something I need to show you."

Kori followed Derek inside, stopping at the bottom of the stairs as he continued up them. Her eyes swept the entryway; charred and water damaged walls, missing floor boards, shattered windows. It still smelled like smoke; the scent of fear and panic still hung lightly in the air, even after so many years.

"Kori?" Her eyes flicked up to Derek, not realizing he's come back down to stand right in front of her, resting a hand on her shoulder. A look of concern was plastered on his face. Derek slowly brought a hand up, cupping the side of her face in his palm. He ran his thumb under her eye, catching a tear she didn't know had fallen. "I know." He said quietly.

She smiled weakly. "It's just. It's weird, you know?" Derek nodded. "I can almost feel them."

"I think that's why I don't mind being here. I thought it'd be too hard to come back here, that being in this house again would bother me, but I don't know. It's like I'm a little closer to them." His eyes softened as he looked down at Kori. "Hey, if this is too hard you can wait in the car. I'll grab what I need and we can go somewhere else."

"No, it's okay. I'll be fine, I just haven't been inside since before everything. It's a little overwhelming, that's all. Let's go." She nodded her head to the stairs where Derek had started to go when they had walked in.

"You sure?" Kori only smiled softly, taking Derek's hand and began to walk up the stair with him at her side.

At the top of the stairs, Derek took over leading her down the hall to the office. Kori tried to ignore the bareness of the wall as they walked. There was a time the walls were filled with photos of the whole pack, not just those who were Hale by blood but bonded by the moon. Photos of Kori, Laura, Derek, and Cora were always dominated the subject but everyone was represented.

Kori remembered there being several of just her and Derek at various ages, there had been one section that seemed to be _their_ section. She smiled to herself, remembering one photo in particular that had Derek sitting on the couch, laughing as he leaned over Kori in his lap at about age 7. She remembered that moment well. She had just run in after coming home from a long trip she and her parents had taken up north. She barreled through the house, seeking out Derek, who had fallen asleep watching TV. She pounced on him, yelling his name to jolt him up from his nap. He grunted when she landed on him, a flash of annoyance crossing his face until he saw that is was Kori who'd leapt on him and not Cora. He wrapped her up in is arms and hugged her tight, smiling brightly, then proceeded to tickle her sides relentlessly as payback for jumping on him. That was about when Talia had snapped the picture.

It was always one of Kori' favorites, and now it was gone; just like everything else. Walking into the office, Derek turned to Kori with his mouth open as he started to tell her why they had come back to the house. His face dropped the instant his eyes fell on her, his hands automatically coming up to cradle her face as she wiped away tears.

"Kori?"

"Uh, god." She said with an eye roll, stepping away and turning her back to Derek. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I keep doing this, I'm ridiculous. I don't do this. I don't get like…emotional."

Derek came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her from behind, planting a soft kiss in her hair. "You're not ridiculous. I know it's not easy, time can't fix what happened here; nothing can."

"I was just thinking about all the photos that used to be on the walls; it was covered, remember? Then I saw the empty space where my favorite hung and it's like I only just realized it's gone." Kori shook her head, trying to shake out the painful thoughts.

"Which one?" Derek asked with a gentle tone.

"What?" Kori said, tuning in Derek's arms to face him.

"Which picture was your favorite?" He asked curiously, reaching up to tuck her hair behind her ear.

"The one your mom took of us on the couch from when I was 7, where you were practically attacking me." She said, a shy smile tugging at her lips.

"Oh, when you so gently woke me up?" Derek smiled.

"I was 7." She reasoned. "And I'd been gone for like 3 weeks." Kori's smile was soft and affectionate; her tears stopping the moment Derek began to ask her about the photo. "And I missed you." She added softly with a shrug. "You know what's weird?"

"What?" Derek asked softly, gazing warmly down at Kori.

"I always missed you; any short trips I went on or that horrible summer mom thought it was a good idea to send me to camp, even while I was in school during the day. It could be 6 days or 6 hours; I always missed you more than anyone else. That's weird right?"

Derek sighed. "Actually," He said, stepping away and moving over to the desk. He picked up the journal he'd gotten from the vault, holding it out to Kori. "It's not as strange as you think."

Kori took the journal from his hand, opening it to the flagged page. Her eyes scanned the page with a puzzled look; a moment later her head snapped up, eyes wide.

" _Bonded Pair_?"

* * *

 **AN: This is getting long. Too long? Or does it feel like its flowing pretty well? I have a ways to go yet...Any suggestions you guys have for Kori or something you think you'd like to see? I'm all for a little collaboration.**


	24. 23: Derek

**AN: Sorry for the hiatus, I had gotten distracted with a couple other ideas which I have gotten out and completed! So my focus can come back to this. I have a BUNCH of chapters written, just have to type them up. I'm up to I think 31 or 32 now? Getting closer to wrapping it up. I'm busy with work and school but I will be able to update more. I am hoping to update at least once a week. So thanks for sticking with me!**

* * *

 **23- Derek**

Derek flinched at Kori's look of surprise, fearing that she was thinking that their feelings were something forced, they didn't have control over it; that he didn't really care about her, that it was because of the Bond. She had a right to know about the fact that their connection and bond goes deeper than they thought, even if there was a risk she would pull back believing that his feelings weren't his own.

"Bonded Pair? I thought…I thought that was just a story; a legend." She sounded almost scared, her voice wavering just a hair.

"So did I." Derek confirms, his tone soft and gentle. "But I'm not so sure now."

"And you, me…we're…" Kori gestured back and forth between their bodies, Derek giving a short nod in response. "How? I mean, how do you _know_?"

Derek picked up a photo off the desk and passed it over. "Mom knew from day one."

Kori looked down at the photo, Derek was holding her in his arms just a few days old with a wide grin spread across his face. She turned it over to find the familiar handwriting of Talia Hale. "True Bond." She read. "This is…"

"A lot, I know."

When Kori shook her head, Derek's shoulders sagged. He leaned back against the desk, with his hand shoved in his pockets. "I know it's a lot, but Kori, you need to know I don't just care about you because of this. There's nothing making me feel this way."

"When did you find out?"

"I found that picture and one of moms journals when I got into town, I didn't think much of it really. You know how she got, very 'one with the ancestors'." Derek shrugged like it explained his dismissal of his mothers theory. "And she just loved you so much, I thought she was just reading too much into it; into you and me. And I always thought that the drive to protect you was just because you were the new pup in the pack but I don't remember being so protective of Cora. So then I started thinking about us when we were kids. How I was the one you'd run to when you were hurt or scared, even if Hannah or Charlie were right there. I was the first one up on night you stayed over and woke up from a nightmare and were crying out. I think I even growled at your dad once when he came running over after you fell off your bike. You were _my_ responsibility. _I_ was the one who was supposed to take care of you. I never knew where that came from, the certainty."

"When did you start to believe all of this though? I remember you telling your mom after-after Paige that you didn't believe in any of this. Why now?"

"I don't know that I didn't believe, I was hurting. Anything that resembled happiness or even love was like poison to me. I found that book in the vault, that night of the party. I couldn't sleep, I just kept running everything over in my mind and creating these _what-if_ scenarios. I went for a walk, trying to clear my head and I found myself standing in the family vault; I don't remember getting there, it was like I was on auto-pilot. That book stood out, so I brought is back here. I only really read through it the night we met for dinner.

"That's why you were late?"

Derek nodded. "I got caught up in reading and making connections to things I hadn't thought about before; it kind of explained everything. Then, once it was laid out in front of me, I couldn't exactly ignore it." Derek became silent and thoughtful for a moment before continuing. "I didn't plan on kissing you the other night." He said, looking down at the floor. "I was going to tell you all of this first, let us figure it out together and talk it over to get a better understanding of what this even is. But…I just…it was like I had been resisting something I didn't quite realize or want to admit I wanted; if I let myself think of you as anything other than a friend or pack mate or family…I didn't know what that made me, you know? There's five years between us, I would have felt like I was taking advantage. So, I pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind where they eventually disappeared; until now. Once I had this knowledge it sort of opened up a flood gate and when I saw you turning to leave…the age gap didn't seem so significate all of a sudden, I didn't care. I reached out before my mind could even register what my body was doing; I didn't know how much I wanted – no, _needed_ it. Needed you."

"Derek -"

"I just don't want you thinking it's not _me_ who wants you or that I only want you because of this True Mate thing. It's more than just that, Kori."

Kori strode across the room, coming to stand in front of Derek in the gap between his legs as he leaned against the desk. "That's what you're worried about? That's why your heart has been pounding and you're not only speaking unusually fast but using more word then you have in your entire life? Derek," Kori placed a gentle hand on Derek's cheek, lifting his head up to meet her eyes. "Look at me. This," She held the book up before tossing it back onto the desk. "Means nothing. I don't care if we are Bonded or not; I don't need the words of the dead telling me why I feel the way I feel. I was…surprised, that's all. This was supposed to just be a bunch of stories, and there are some pretty terrifying ones that go with it if you haven't forgotten. So yes, it's a lot but the words in that book don't mean anything. You, Derek, you mean everything."

Derek grabbed Kori at her waist, pulling her against him as her arms wound around his neck. She laughed against his lip when he let out a low growl. The kiss deepened, both grabbing at each other; Kori pulled herself up, wrapping her legs around Derek's waist. He hoisted her up, jostling her to get a firmer grip and she threw her head back laughing. He took the opportunity of her exposed neck, his teeth grazing her skin, sending a shiver down her spine. Derek smiled against her throat, turning around to set her on the desk.

"Hm, it's like the other night all over again," She commented, carding her fingers threw his hair. "Only difference is, no audience."

Derek growled lowly again, running his nose along her neck and jaw. Kori hooked a finger in the belt loop of his jeans, tugging him closer, while her other hand moved under his shirt exploring, the ridges of his abs. His eyes flashed blue, making Kori grin wider as her eyes brightened in response to his color shift.

"Beautiful." Derek whispered before crashing his lips against Kori's again.

His hands moved up her thigh, pushing up under her sweater; his fingers ghosting across the skin on stomach to her side, then her back. Kori squirmed closer to the edge of the desk, holding Derek tight against her with her legs. She starts to pull at his shirt, lifting the fabric up.

"Shirt bad." She groaned, pulling it over his head and tossing it to the side. Her eyes travel from his face down his bare torso, eyes sparkling with desire. "Shit _very_ bad." She says again, running her hands up his chest.

Derek smirks, tugging gently at her own shirt but not moving to peel it off. Kori rolls her eyes, grabbing the hem of the sweater and lifting it up over her head. "Such a gentleman."

Derek gazed down at her in wonder, his eyes scanning every bit of her as if to commit every scar and freckle to memory. He nods slowly. "Shirt _**very**_ bad." He murmurs in agreement., Kori laughs, her whole body shaking with the sound; something that is quickly becoming Derek's favorite sound.

He presses his lips to her nose, her cheek, lingering an extra moment on her neck before he's moving his lips to her shoulder. Kori leans back on the desk, pulling Derek on top of her; she manages to unbutton his jeans without his immediate notice. His hands move across the soft skin of her toned stomach, Kori arches into his touch. Derek's hands move to the waist of her jeans, toying with the button. Kori groans impatiently, making Derek smirk as he pops the button open.

Derek's attention moves back to Kori's neck, nipping at the spot he has found to be her biggest weakness. She gasps and moans softly, feeling the fingers tracing the waist of her unfastened jeans. She huffs a sigh in frustration. "Derek." She whines.

He grins against her neck. "Mmm?" He hums in response.

"Come _on_." His laughs rumbles through his chest, sending vibrations through her. "Tease." Kori quips, clutching at Derek's back.

"Patience." He tells her.

"When have you ever known me to have patience?"

Kori attempts to take the situation in to her own hands, squirming beneath Derek, knocking over papers as she does. She's tugging on her jeans but it's difficult to get enough leverage in her position without the help of Derek.

Who is being of no help.

Derek shakes his head at her. "Not yet." He whispers against her ear.

Kori brings her hands up Derek's sides, running her extended claws over his skin with a sly but innocent smile. She leans up, brushing her lips against his shoulder, then up to his neck, seeking out _his_ weak spot. She quickly finds it when her teeth lightly touch the curve where his shoulder and neck meet.

Derek's heart beat falters for a second and his eyes go bright blue again. In an instant, his calm and controlled demeanor is brought crashing down. He pulls Kori off the desk with a heavy growl, a triumphant grin spreading across her face.

"Did I just win?" She asks with a wink.

Derek lifts Kori up high on his chest so she's looking down at him, his hands on her thigs, holding her firmly in place. She leans down, her hair falling around them as their mouths collide. Derek carries her out of the office and into his bedroom, laying her gently down on the bed, caging her in with his arms on either side of her. Kori moved her hand over his shoulder to the back of his neck and through his hair. Derek eases himself down, the kiss turning soft and gentle.

Kori groans, feeling her phone buzzing in her back pocket. She shifts under Derek's weight to grab it and tosses it to the floor. He smirks at her, trailing kisses and nuzzling into her neck. Kori's leg bends up, hooking around Derek, his hand moving slowly down her side, causing her to shiver again. He doesn't linger at the waist of her jeans too long, just long enough to unsettle her and cause her to sigh again in frustration.

"I totally won." She breaths out as Derek pulls the zipper of her jeans down. He smiles ruefully at her and shakes his head.

Kori starts to wiggle, lifting herself up to aid him in slipping out of her pants when he suddenly stops.

Derek's eyes dark toward the window.

"What?" Kori asks, throwing her head back in annoyance. Then she hears it too. "Ugh." Derek climbs off the bed, moving to the window. "I'll kill him."

Derek looked back at Kori, both share a silent look of disappointment. "He's your cousin Kori, you can't kill him,"

"I guess." Kori mutter, walking out to retrieve her shirt.

Derek glared down at the blue Jeep as it drew close. "Maybe I'll kill him." He mumbled to himself, following Kori's lead and retrieving his discarded shirt from the office floor.

A potentially _great_ afternoon, ruined by a rumbling blue Jeep. If he didn't hate Stiles for getting him arrested, he definitely hated him now.


	25. 24: Kori

**AN: Hey there! Sorry for the break, not too much between the last and this one though. I hope to update more now that I have run through my Sterek ideas and got them out, though there are two other stories I** **writing beside this one so I'm never all that focused I guess.**

 **Enjoy, thanks for reading. This one is a bit short.**

* * *

 **24- Kori**

Kori bound down the stairs, pulling her sweater on as she threw open the door, eyes narrowing at the driver climbing out of the Jeep.

"Stiles." She growled, striding toward him. "What are you _doing_ here?"

Stiles closed the door to the Jeep, stepping back against it as his angry cousin stormed up to him. "What are _you_ doing here?" He asks her, with a false bravado. He spares a glance over Kori's shoulder, his eyes widening as Derek steps from the house. "What's _he_ doing here!?" He yells, pointing at the man as he approaches.

"Stiles." Kori growls again.

Stiles glances down as she steps closer, he looks back up with a quirked eyebrow. "Where are your shoes?"

Kori stops, looks down at her bare feet and back up to Stiles. "My…you're worried about my _shoes? Seriously?_ I-I honestly don't know what's wrong with you."

"No Adderall." He answers with a shrug.

"Oh my god! Whatever, you need to go, _now_. Before Derek decides to kill you."

" _You_ said he wasn't dangerous! Why not let him prove it!?" Stiles yells over Kori's shoulder, acting braver than she knows he feels.

"He's _not_ when he isn't being _arrested_ for something that he _didn't do_!"

"Why is he even out?!"

"Because, idiot," Derek strides up to Kori's side with his arm across his chest. "I didn't _do_ anything. They found wolf fur on Laura's body."

"Yeah, and you're a werewolf – wait…Laura? They released the ID?!" Kori groans at the sound of excitement in his tone.

Derek sighs, rolling his eyes. "No, but I knew who she was already."

"Because you…killed her?" Stiles says slowly.

Kori feels Derek tense up next to her; she reaches out, running her over his forearm to pull his hand out and hold it in hers at their side.

"Because, she's my _sister_!?" Derek says through clenched teeth.

"You killed your _sister_!?"

" _Jesus_! Stiles! He didn't _kill anyone_! He didn't _bite_ anyone! He hasn't done _anything_!" Derek squeezes Kori's hand gently as her voice rose, scaring a few spying crows from the trees above. She took a breath to calm herself, squeezing back on Derek's hand. "You've got everything all wrong, Stiles."

"I'm not the one who killed my sister; she was dead at least two days before I even came back."

"What about the other body?" Stiles asks skeptically. "That was just the other night. Found not far from here, just past the creek. You saying that wasn't you?"

"Believe it or don't, Stiles. I don't really care. But I _didn't_ kill anyone."

"What about Scott?"

Derek sighed. "What about him?"

"You bit him, right? Why?"

"He _didn't_ , Stiles."

"Why is your cousin an idiot?"

"Hey! Standing right here big guy!" Derek jerk his body at him, making him flail and stumble back into the Jeep. "Oh god!"

Kori smirks, shaking her head. "Look, we really should talk about this _with_ Scott, but since you're a pain in my ass; he would have had to have been bitten by an alpha to be turned."

Stiles looks between the pair, not getting his cousins point. "Okay…so?"

"I'm not an _alpha_!" Derek yells in frustrations.

"And besides that, he wasn't even _here_! Ergo, Derek didn't do it."

Stiles thought for a moment, considering what he was told. "Okay." He took a breath, collecting his thoughts. His eyes fall to Derek and Kori's entwined hands, cause him to _lose_ those thoughts. "Um…" He pointed at their hands. "What's ah, what's this?"

"Stiles, _focus_. Please." Kori groaned.

"Yeah fine, but seriously…are you two like…a _thing_?" He looks back up, studying them both more carefully. Derek's hair tousled, Kori's flatter and slightly matted like she just woke up. Neither of them wearing shoes, both with the button of their jeans undone, Kori's zipper half down. Derek's shirt sat slightly off center on his shoulders. Stiles' eyes widened, taking in and processing their appearance.

"Oh my god!" He whined, putting his hand over his eyes. "Oh my _god_! You defiled my cousin! And I like…drove right in the middle of it!"

Kori's check felt flush. "What are you talking about?" She tries deflecting.

"You and Mr. Scarybrows! You, you…ugh! You hooked-up, didn't you?! With a suspected murderer!"

"You're the only one who suspected anything." Derek pointed out.

"Totally beside the point, dude. God, what is this like _payback_? I get you arrested, you hook-up with my cousin?"

Kori releases Derek's hand and lunges at Stiles, grabbing him by his flannel shirt and shoving him against the hood of the Jeep. He yelps in surprise at the sudden attack from his cousin, his eye getting bigger when he sees her eyes glowing brighter.

"Oh my god." Stiles says breathlessly, sounding on the edge of panic. His heart was practically hammering through his chest. In the back of Kori's mind, she knew she was terrifying him, knew she overrated, and knew she could end up giving him a panic attack or worse. Everything from the past few days had been building up and she was just pushing it down; she just snapped.

"Kori." A voice called out to her, sounding distant and muffled. "Kori." It sounded closer but the owner was still unclear. "Kori!"

A pair of hands grasped her shoulders firmly, pulling her back. A hand slides up to the nape of her neck, then everything came into sharper focus.

 _Derek_.

Her mind began to ease, her eyes darting around, searching his face frantically. "Kori." He says slowly, her hands dropping to her sides. "You're okay." He tells her, placing his hands on either side of her face, his fingers reaching to the back of her neck to gently massage the tension away and calm her further. "You're okay. Breath for me Kor, yeah?" Derek breathes with her as he coaches her through it. "Good, again." Kori's exhales are ragged and uneven; Derek keeps breathing with her until her heartbeat levels out and her breaths are smooth.

Kori closes her eyes and leans into Derek, wrapping her arm around his waist with her cheek pressed into his chest. His arms come up and wrap around her body, making her feel secure, as he rubs soothing circles on her back.

"Um."

Kori's breath hitches, hearing Stiles. "Oh my god." She whispers, turning in Derek's arms. "Stiles. I am _so_ sorry! I-I…I didn't mean to…" Kori shakes her head while Derek rubs her arms, whispering in her ear.

" _Relax, he's okay. You're okay_."

"What _was_ that?" Stiles asks, still sounding uneasy.

Kori feels a tightness in her chest, guilt at the way her cousin is looking at her and how she was the one to put that look a fear there. She turned away from him, unable to bare the frightened look settling in his eyes.

Derek pulls her back into his embrace, running his hand up and down her spine.

"That," He starts with a sigh, tucking Kori's head under his chin. "Was a panic attack."

"I'm so sorry." Kori mumbles against Derek's chest.

"She…like almost fully…her eyes even… _that_ was a panic attack?"

"That was a _werewolf's_ panic attack. And it's the only time Kori can lose control.

"Kori," She heard Stiles' soft footsteps as he came closer, his shoes crunching the dries leaves scattered around them. "Kor? Hey." He reaches out, Derek dropping his hand as Stiles touches her back. He's nervous, Kori can hear it in the quick thumping of his heart. "Can you look at me?" Kori turns her head, still presses against Derek. "It's okay."

She shook her head. "No, it's not. I could have _hurt_ you. That's _not_ okay."

"I didn't mean to trigger you, I wasn't serious." Kori raised an eyebrow. "Okay, so I was a _little_ serious. I'm sorry Kori, really."

"It wasn't you, honestly. It was just another thing on top of a lot of other things. Laura, Scott, this alpha, the thing with Luke." Kori sighed, leaning into Derek's touch as he continued rubbing her back. "It just built up, I knew it was going to happen at some point. You just added one little thing and it was too much. I…I was just done. With all of it. I'm really sorry."

"Thing with Luke? What thing with Luke?" Kori froze, not even realizing she mentioned it.

" _Kori_." Stiles zeroed in on her hesitation. "What thing with Luke?"

Kori glanced at Derek looking for help, his mouth pulled back in a thin line. Derek wasn't going to help her get around this, but that wasn't really a surprise to her.

She turned back to Stiles, sighing in defeat. "It was at the party the other night, at Jackson's."


	26. 25: Kori

**25- Kori**

"He what!? I'm going to kill him! I'm going to get a bat and bash his head in!"

"Nothing actually happened; Stiles, calm down!"

Kori wasn't exactly surprised Stiles was upset, he never liked Luke so him trying to force himself on her at a party was just another thing to not like him for. But Stiles was heated, whatever fear he had toward Kori was gone and forgotten; rage wafted off him, the scent of it hanging in the air around them.

"That doesn't matter! He could have…he… _God_! I'm going to kill him. _You_ should have killed him!" He said to Kori. "Why didn't _you_ kill him?!" Stiles jabbed a finger at Derek.

Derek's arms were crossed over his chest as he leaned on the nose of the Jeep. He nodded his head at Kori. "She wouldn't let me."

Stiles whipped his head back to his cousin. "Why wouldn't you let him!"

"Because what's the point? It's done, over. I have no reason or desire to speak to him again. Plus, even drunk I'm sure Derek scared him enough to keep him away from me."

Stiles huffed, not pleased that Luke wasn't going to get a serious ass kicking. "He can't just get away with it. What if next time it's someone without a scary werewolf boyfriend."

Kori's cheeks flushed, her eyes darting from Stiles to Derek. "He's not my boyfriend." She said quietly. Derek let out a low chuckle, Kori turned to him with a frown.

"You two were literally ripping each other's clothes off up there 10 minutes ago; he's your _something_."

"I…I…So?" Kori stammered, unable to think of anything to say.

Stiles rolled his. "Look, it's whatever. Not even the point. The _point_ is, not everyone has Derek at their back."

"He's not wrong, Kori." Derek interjected.

"So, you want to kill him?" Kori swept her gaze over both men.

"No," Stiles concedes with a sigh. "I guess not, but someone needs to do _something_. We could report it."

"No."

"But Kori-"

"Stiles, I said _no_. I'm not going down to the station and going through this with Uncle Noah, _when nothing happened_. Do you have any idea how pissed he'll be? Over something that _might_ have happened. He might be the sheriff, but he'll be in a cell by the end of the day. I'll talk to Luke."

" _No_." Derek tells her firmly. "You'll stay _away_ from him."

"Derek-"

"I'm with Sourwolf on this; I don't think you should go anywhere near him. Scott and me will talk to him.

"You and Scott?" Kori laughed. " _Seriously_?"

"Scott can throw his werewolf strength at him." Stiles pointed out.

"Fine, whatever. This isn't even out biggest problem, you know."

"Well, tight now it's the only one I care about." Stiles says, opening the driver door. "And maybe I'll bring my bat, you know for good measure."

"You're an idiot." Kori tells him with a shake of her head. "Hey, why _did_ you come here?"

The boy shrugged, climbing behind the wheel. "I had a hell of a time figuring out why the Jeep wouldn't start, until I saw some cut wires under the hood." Stiles said, narrowing his eyes at Kori. "I heard he was being released today, figured you'd be here. Wanted to show you my victory, also had intentions of yelling at you. Can't a Stilinski down Kor." Stiles grinned, closing the door and driving back down the dirt road.

Kori sighed, flopping down on to the leaf covered ground. "Well, that went better than I thought it would."

Derek set himself beside her, putting his arm around her and pulling her against him. "What did?"

"Stiles knowing about us, I mean there's more to tell him but I think maybe now he'll back off with the suspicious gaze."

"You were flustered when he called me your boyfriend." Derek said after a moment of silence.

Kori closed her eyes, letting out a slow breath. "We didn't talk about any of that…I'm not into putting a name on anything anyway. I didn't want him assuming something we didn't even discuss, plus this is…this is more than just a high school romance thing."

Derek nodded. "I don't mind you know."

"Mind what?" Kori shifted to look Derek in the eye.

Derek shrugged. "Him calling me your boyfriend; I don't mind. You're right, this is more than a high school romance. But what do you tell people? You can't just come right out and tell them the details, right? I didn't really even think twice about it; it didn't even seem weird."

Kori smile. "Okay, so there is it then. We had the talk."

Derek returned her smile, kissing her softly. "We had the talk."

Kori sighed, leaning into Derek, resting her head on his shoulder. "I scared him. Stiles." She said quietly after silence had fallen between them, her voice filled with guilt and sorrow. "He's never looked at me like that before."

"He's okay thought, so are you; you pulled yourself back."

"Only because of you and even then, I only _just_ heard you. Everything was muffled. That hasn't happened in a long time. Derek…that scares me." Kori confessed, bringing her arms around Derek's torso.

"I know it does, but you're stronger than you think. You can stay in control, even without me. And I think telling Stiles everything will help; less secrets, another person to talk to; you had everything bottled up, Kori. You kept pushing everything down, forcing yourself to be okay."

"I guess." Kori mumbled into the material of Derek's shirt.

"You know everything is different for you, I don't have the difficulty with control you've had. Emotions don't anchor you like they do me, they feed your wolf. You fight it, which is good to a point, but that's where the panic attacks come in."

"I don't want hurt anyone, especially Stiles; not _really_."

"It'll get easier, I think this True Mate thing will help anchor us both." Derek leans forward, untangling himself from Kori, pushing himself up to his feet. He turned to her, looking down, and held out his hand. "We'll do some more research, there's got to be more than just added physical strength. You gain strength in number too, that's not something to make this unique enough to become some kind of urban legend." Kori reached her hand up, letting Derek pull her up to her feet gracefully. "There has got to me something more. I can physically feel a pull to you, it's like there is a rope keeping up tethered together; when you move, I stumble to follow. With such a strong connection, that has to mean that we can anchor each other and gain better control."

Kori nodded in agreement, holding Derek's hand as they walked back to the house. "Maybe it's not strong enough yet?"

"What do you mean? Feels pretty strong to me." He asked as they walked into the burnt shell house.

"Maybe there's something else to this; we're linked together but maybe the bond it still fragile, still forming."

Derek set himself down on the bottom of the stairs. "So, it's weak?"

Kori shook her head, leaning against the wall near the stairs with her arms crossed. "Not weak, _fragile, incomplete_. Maybe there something more to it than just…this pull. Something that has to be done to seal it."

"Hm." Derek hummed thoughtfully. "Okay, I can see that. I don't like the idea of anything about us not being strong enough, but that could explain why you didn't hear me at first. Really, if we can anchor each other is shouldn't take much effort at all to reel you back in from going over the edge."

"Maybe that really does mean that the bond isn't complete then."

Derek ran his hand over his face, sighing as he got to his feet. "So, we've got some answers to find then."

Kori stepped forward, wrapping her arms around his waist. "We've got burgers, that are ice cold by now, to eat. I'm starving.

Derek smiled, bringing his arms around Kori as he leaned down to rest his forehead against Kori's. "They're only cold because you just can't seem to keep your hands off me."

Kori leaned back in Derek's arms, giving him an appalled look. "Me?! You're the one who carried me of to your bed! All I did was touch this spot," Kori moved her hand to Derek's shoulder, brushing her thumb along the curve where his shoulder and neck met. "Right here." She finished softly.

Derek tilted his head to the side involuntarily. "Cheater." He murmured.

"Strategy." Kori said softly with a grin, pressing her lips against hi warm skin.

Derek's eye flutter closed, a low rumble vibrated through his body. "I thought you were hungry?" He ground out, his finger digging into Kori's hips.

"Hmm, yeah." She said, pulling back. "You're right. Let's eat." Kori grinned, patting Derek on the chest.

Derek's eyes follow Kori as she walked over to the rickety table by the door, grabbing their food.

"Who's leaving who hanging now?" He grumbled.

Kori laughed, walking back over to him, handing him the bag of food. She stretched up, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Payback is a bitch, ain't is babe?" She through him a mischievous smirk, winking at him as she tugged on his belt loop. "Come on, let's eat outside."


	27. 26: Kori

**26- Kori**

Kori enjoyed her late afternoon lunch with Derek, sitting on the lawn under the slowly setting sun. Being near him put her at ease, something she'd never really noticed or paid attention to before. But now, having found out more about the bond True Mates have, she found herself picking up on everything about the boy she'd grown up with.

Sitting on her bed the following morning, Kori closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind. She was curious to see how connected she and Derek were. Taking steady, deep breaths, she put herself in an almost meditative state, only allowing thoughts of Derek filter through. She felt a calming breeze ghost across her skin, felling something within that wasn't her, but _something_. It felt warm at first, like the sun beating down in the afternoon. But then there was a burning sensation, the more Kori tried to concentrate on the foreign feeling, the more it began to _hurt_. She clenched her eyes shut tight, her hands gripping into her comforter. The pain seemed to be more centrally located in her left arm, on the inside just below the crease of her elbow. Part of her wanted her let go of this thread she seemed to be latching onto. But the pain wasn't hers, she knew that much; she knew it was coming from somewhere though, and if not from her…

"Kori!"

Kori gasped, shoving away the hand grabbing at her shoulders. Her eyes darted around the room, trying to refocus. She blinked back tears as the phantom pain disappeared. Her gaze fell on a pair of concerned amber eyes.

"Stiles?"

"You were screaming." He told her, his voice laced with worry. "Like you were in pain." Stiles sat beside her on the bed. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, but…I don't know. I could feel this pain; intense and sharp and burning, but it wasn't _mine_." Stiles stared at his cousin, not knowing how to act. "I promise, I'm fine. But I can't shake this feeling."

"The pain?" Kori nodded. "Has anything like that ever happened before?"

"Never."

"What were you doing?"

Kori shrugged. "Thinking…trying to test a theory." Stiles gave her a questioning look. "It's a long story. Derek and I talked yesterday and we're going to tell you and Scott everything later today. I'll explain then, deal?"

Stiles sighed, giving her a nod. "Come on, we'll head over to the school in a few." The boy got up from the bed, pausing in the doorway. "Was this theory something to do with Derek?" He asked curiously, Kori nodded in response to his question. "Maybe check in with him." Stiles shrugged, walking out of the room, leaving Kori to get ready.

Kori grabbed her phone, typing out a quick message to Derek; needing some piece of mind to settle the dreadful feeling filling up inside of her.

 _ **Morning, you okay?**_

She dropped her phone on the bed, going through her closet to gather her clothes for the day. She threw her bag over her shoulder, snatching her phone off her bed before meeting Stiles out by the Jeep.

"Did he answer yet?" Stiles asked, backing out of the driveway.

"Who?"

"Derek, you texted him, right? Checking in? Sorry to put that worry in your head, I didn't mean to."

"What worry?" Kori asked, feeling defensive.

"Please, I saw the color drain from your face when I was walking out of your room."

Kori was silent for a moment as they drove down the road. "He hasn't answered." She said quietly, looking down at the opened message she had with Derek.

"I'm sure he's fine. All I meant was that maybe he's got some insight to what you felt."

Kori nodded, locking her phone with a sigh. "He's probably on a run or something."

They pulled into the parking lot and the entire school was buzzing with the current gossip. As Kori climbed out of the Jeep, she noticed a few eyes falling on her as her classmates walked past.

Stiles jumped out, reaching in the back to retrieve his backpack. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and say word has gotten out about that other body."

Kori nodded, ignoring the side glances she kept getting. "Looks like it. I knew it'd get out, no matter how hard your dad kept it quiet."

"He really did good this time." Stiles said, coming around the Jeep, sounding impressed. "Leaving half of the file at the station was a good move."

Kori smirked. "Yeah, I guess he's learning. Took him long enough."

"Right?! I mean has he _met_ me?"

"Kori!" A voice shrieked, raising above the murmuring groups.

Kori turned her head toward the school entrance to find Lydia staring at her with wide eyes. Kori strained her eyes, focusing on her friends features she saw a slight shade of pink around her eyes, like she'd been crying.

"Lydia?" Kori questioned to herself.

Stiles' eyes followed his cousins gaze, landing on the strawberry blonde girl across the parking lot. "Something wrong?" He asked Kori.

"I…I don't know." She said, already walking toward Lydia with Stiles tumbling after her.

"Kori!" Lydia gasped, pushing the other students out of the way as she came down the stairs. "Oh, thank god! You haven't returned any of my calls! After I found out about…I just, I thought you…" Lydia threw her arms around Kori, holding on to her tightly.

"Lyds, I'm fine, what happened?"

Lydia pulled away, looking at her friend cautiously. "Y-you mean…you don't – you haven't heard?" Kori shook her head. "They found another body the other night-"

"Oh, that." Kori waved it off as old news. "Of _course_ , I heard about that, Stiles snoops a lot so I knew that before some of the deputies-"

"It was _Luke_ , Kori." Lydia choked on a sob. "It was Luke." She said more quietly.

"Luke? No, but…he was just at Jackson's. He went home after the party…he…"

"Went wandering through the woods. Drunk. He…He apparently fell, broke his ankle. Then…something…" Lydia pressed her eyes closed, shaking her head as if to wake herself from a dream.

"Jesus Christ." Stiles breathed out from over Kori's shoulder.

Kori tensed as Lydia embraced her again, mistaking her lack of words as grief. She was shocked, a small piece of her doubting her convictions where it came to Derek, knowing how pissed he had been that night. But she _knew_ he hadn't done this, he wouldn't have; his aggravation of not having done anything was all too real. It would be harder no to convince Stiles and Scott of his innocence, especially if she herself had a moment of doubt even if that moment was only a fraction of a second.

"I know you guys were…well, complicated but Kori, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" Lydia asked, eyes brimming with unshed tears as she held her friend at arm's length to look at her.

Kori nodded numbly. "Yeah. I'm okay. Just…"

Lydia nodded, showing her understanding.

Except she didn't understand; she couldn't.

Laura was killed, by a wolf they knew for sure now. Scott was attacked by an alpha after that. Now Luke was dead too. A wolf, presumably a new alpha since Laura was the first to die, was out there. It wasn't just looking to turn people, if it was Luke would be alive. It killed for power, now it was killing for pleasure.

And Derek was still MIA.


	28. 27: Kori

**27- Kori**

Her nerves were still shot, obliterated, by 12 PM after she still hadn't heard from Derek. Scott regarded her wearily as she sat with him and Stiles at lunch as she grumbled and snapped at anyone casting her any look that even slightly resembled sympathy.

She wasn't _Luke's_ anything; she was just the most recent conquest.

"Kor, chill. You're scaring everyone around you with that death glare." Stiles told her, leaning forward on the table.

Kori turned her glare on the boy across from her. "They're all acting like I'm some…some… _widow_. I'm _tired_ of it. I have my own shit I'm dealing with and it doesn't have anything to do with Luke."

"Well," Scott chimed in. "You were his last girlfriend – I know, you weren't _actually_ his girlfriend," He added quickly sensing her protest before it came. " _But,_ that's how people saw it. They're being polite."

"They're wondering how I'm not a wreck." She corrected bitterly, her gaze falling on a small group of gossiping girls, one of whom she knew had been very much in love with Luke. "Specifically, _them_. _They_ 'don't get it'." Kori told Scott, using finger quotes.

Stiles swung his head back, scrunching his face as if that would help him hear better. "That's wild." He said in wonder, turning back to the table. "I can't believe you can hear that over all the other noise in here."

Shrugging, Kori said, "His is better than mine." nodding to Scott. "If he focuses enough, he could block all of this out and catch a squirrel running up a tree on the lacrosse field. _But_ , he'd would need someone to teach him how to do that. I can't, since I don't have the same range of hearing as him."

Scott frowned. " _Someone_ , huh? _Derek_ , you mean, right?" He said, sounding bitter.

Kori shrugged, tugging out her phone. She sighed, slamming it face down on the hard surface. "He _is_ someone, yes." She said, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Yeah, but he-"

"You haven't heard from him?" Stiles asked, cutting off Scott, looking at his cousin with a worried expression.

"No, and now I'm really starting to get worried."

Scott looking back and forth between the pair at the table. "Heard from who?"

Kori straightened in her seat, leaning forward with her elbows on the table and wiping a hand over her face. "Derek. He's gone radio silence, hasn't gotten back to my text from this morning."

Scott pauses, squinting at Kori in confusion. "And that's…"

"Dude," Stiles warns, shaking his head. "Don't say it."

"A bad thing?" Scott finishes.

Kori's eyes snap to Scott, flaring bright green. "It's _very_ bad. And I'm about done with you and your opinion of _Derek_. You don't want his help, _fine_. But don't sit there and condemn him because you _think_ you know him." Kori kept her voice low, but it was firm and full of heat that sent a chill up Scott's spine. "The _alpha_ who bit you? It's hunting and killing for _fun_. Luke wasn't turned, wasn't hunted for food, wasn't killed to gain power. The fact that this alpha did this for no conceivable reason, makes it _extremely_ dangerous. It's killing for _pleasure_ , Scott. Do you get that?"

Scott's eyes widen. "And you…Derek hasn't gotten back to you." He says softly, realization hitting him.

"Exactly."

"You don't think he's…" the new beta trailed off.

"What would you care anyway?" Kori spat angerly.

"I don't trust the guy, doesn't mean I want him to die, Kori." Scott told her earnestly, no lie in his word.

"Yeah, Kor. I mean the dude terrifies me but you and him…he seems to want to protect you and he makes you happy, so that's good enough reason for me to want him to be around. We only have two more classes, why don't we check the house after?" Stiles gives his cousin a soft smile.

"I, uh, I'm studying with Allison after school."

Kori rolled her eyes. "Of _course_ you are. Her dad almost kills you and you want to still see her. _Genius._ "

"Allison's not like him!"

" _Yet_."

"Hey, you told me not to condemn Derek 'cause I don't know him. Well, you don't know _her_!"

"Neither do you! But I _do_ know her family and what they can do! Maybe your right, maybe she won't be like them but she is still _with them_." Kori stood up, thrusting her chair back. "Some of them won't give a shit that you're just a 16-year-old _kid_ who was attacked. It won't matter that you've never hurt or killed anyone. They'll see you and only see the monster you _might_ become." Kori grabbed her phone, shoving it in her pocket. "And then, they'll kill you."

She turned and walked away, leaving Scott and Stiles gaping at her retreating form. She'd effectively put a little fear into the beta, she could tell by the quickening of his heart rate. It was unlikely it would be enough to completely deter him from spending time with the Argent girl, but maybe he'd be more alert.

It was impossible for her to focus during Econ and English, her mind was only capable of focusing on Derek and worrying about him the more time passed.

She was out of her seat and out the door before the final bell even sounded, her eyes having watched the minutes tick down all final period. She found Stiles lingering with Scott, giving him words of encouragement for his study date that was apparently supposed to be more than just studying. His locker was opened as he swapped things out; Kori grabbed his arm as she passed him, yanking him from the row of lockers.

"Hey, wait! Woah!" Stiles flailed his limbs, twisting to face the direction he'd been getting dragged." Okay, _okay_!"

Kori released her hold on him as they walked out of the school. She froze at the bottom of the steps, causing Stiles to stumble into her. "Okay, are we walking or what? Cause I didn't get a chance to grab my math book, so if I can just run back in…"

"Something…somethings off. We need to go, _now_. I need to find Derek." She spoke with a waver in her voice as she flew down the stairs.

Stiles fumbled to keep up, juggling the books in his hands. "How do you know?"

Kori stopped outside the Jeep. "There's a scent in the air; something familiar but it's getting over powered by something sour."

"Derek?" Stiles guessed, Kori nodded. "Okay, let's go." He says, nodding back in understanding as he climbs into the Jeep.

He glances quickly behind him before whipping out of his parking space. Kori has her phone pulled out again, checking her conversation with Derek. She's jerked forward as Stiles slams on his breaks, her arm shooting out to brace herself on the dashboard to keep from flying forward.

"Jesus! _Stiles_!" Kori glances quick to the driver, seeing his eyes fixed straight ahead with his mouth open. She looks out the front window and gasps as she watches Derek crumble to the ground. " _Derek_!" She shrieks, scrambling to get out of the Jeep. "Oh my god!" Kori kneels down beside him, cradling his head in her lap.

"What happened?! What's he doing here?" Scott reaches them, bending down panicked.

Stiles stumbles out of the Jeep, standing by the nose. "What's going on? Why does he look like that?"

"Why aren't you healing?" Scott's voice pitches low.

"It was a different kind of bullet." Derek manages.

Kori tenses beneath Derek. " _Argent_."

"Hey, _stop that_!" Scott demands, seeing Derek's eyes pulsing a cool blue.

"That's what I'm trying to tell you; I _can't_." He insists, sounding weaker.

"You have to get him out of here!" Scott grabs Derek, helping Kori stand him up and walk over to the Jeep. "Stiles, get him away from here."

"And go _where_?"

"I don't know!" Kori rolls her eyes at the two boys, staying silent as she climbs into the back of the Jeep, leaning forward to help ease Derek in the passenger seat. "I've got to go meet Allison."

"You have to get the bullet, find out want kind it was." Kori instructing him.

Scott closes the door after Derek is seated inside. "You don't know it was them." He protests.

"The one who shot me, she's with them. She's an Argent. You have to find the bullet."

"Why?"

"He's dead without it, Scott. _Please_." Kori voice goes soft, sounding tired and broken. Her eyes matching the emotion in her plea.

Scott growls in frustration, backing away. "I'll try, I will. You guys just go; I'll text you when I find something."

"Stiles, come on. We have to get him somewhere." Kori says, leaning in between the front seats with her hand on Derek's arm and her head resting on his shoulder.

"Kori…Don't." Derek tells her softly, feeling a light tingle inside him as Kori attempts to draw out some of his pain.

"I can do it."

"Last time you tired, you passed out." He mumbles as Stiles pulls out onto the road. He closed his eyes, tilting his head to the side to rest it against Kori's. "This alone is helping, promise."

"Are you dying? Cause I don't know how I'd handle that." Stiles blurts out.

"Stiles!" Kori scolds the boy. "Just…just drive, okay?"

"Sorry, okay. Driving, I'm driving. I don't know where I'm driving too, but I'm driving."

Kori presses her lips to Derek's temple. "You're going to be okay, Der. I'm not losing you too. I can't."


	29. 28: Derek

**28- Derek**

He hated this.

Hated feeling weak. Hated having to rely on someone who didn't even trust him. Hated Stiles' driving.

Hated that Kori was terrified.

As much as she pushed forward, telling Stiles she was fine – she didn't have a smoking bullet wound in her arm – Derek knew better. His senses weren't up to par, so he couldn't smell her distress, but he didn't need enhanced senses. He knew her, better than anyone. And when she said "It's not like I haven't seen this before" to reassure her cousin she was handling it okay, Derek knew she was only barely holding it together.

Because, yes, they've both seen someone shot with a wolfsbane laced bullet. But, within 24 hours, if it's not treated, the result is death. And Kori knew that; she knew that right now, in this hour, they're okay. But…if Scott doesn't pull through, these will be some of their last moments together.

Derek will be dead; it'll be another person in a _long_ list of people who she's lost. And he's terrified too, because he genuinely doesn't know if she'll be able to survive another major loss; this bond they have makes everything more unpredictable now. He knows they are tied very tightly together, he knows she is feeling some of his pain if the flinching and rubbing of her arm is anything to go by. When true mates lose one another, is the one that's left okay? Do they deteriorate, go insane after losing something that has become a part of who they are? He hasn't gotten that far in the research.

The three drive around for a while, waiting to hear something from Scott.

"God, is he rotting?"

Derek turns slowly, glaring at Stiles.

"Shut up!" Kori growls out from the back.

Derek flinches at the sound of Stiles' phone ringing; the boy pulls to the side of the road to answer. Kori reaches forward, squeezing Derek's arm. "Okay?"

His eyes are clamped shut, his face twisted in pain but he nods, laying his hand over hers; the contact does seem to ease the throbbing and not because Kori was trying to syphoning the pain from him; she had stopped trying after he threatened to jump from the moving vehicle.

"You want me to take him _where_?" Stiles asks, his voice tight and pitched high. He glances at Derek, holding the phone out to him. "You're never going to believe where he wants me to take you."

Derek snatched the phone from his hand with as much force as he can manage. "Did you find it?"

Scott sighs on the other end. "Not yet."

"You _need_ to find that bullet, Scott."

"What if it can't?" the question comes out as a challenge.

"Then I'm dead and you need me to help you find the alpha."

Kori grabs the phone from Derek, speaking to Scott in an icy tone that Derek himself wouldn't want to have directed at him. "Scott," She starts, with a false sweetness in her voice. "If you don't find that bullet and bring it to the clinic in the next – oh say 2 hours – I will brust into the Argents house, tie Allison to a chair, gag her, and make her watch while I cut your balls off and _shove them down your_ _throat_." Derek tenses, side eying Stiles who is staring straight ahead, stiff as a board with wide eyes. "Do we have an understanding?" Her question is met with silence. "Scott. I can't here you. I'll ask _again_ ; Do. We. Have. An _understanding_?"

"Y-yes…" Scott stutters softly.

"Good. See you in two hours."

Kori ends that call, shoving the phone in her cousins' face, who is still sitting paralyzed. She sighs and rolls her eyes, annoyed that he wasn't taking his phone back. "Here!" She snaps, jerking Stiles from his temporary catatonic state.

"Yeah." He breaths out, taking his phone as Kori settles back. "So…um…that was…"

"Necessary." Kori says sharply, daring Stiles to argue.

"Okay, okay. Just, seemed a bit intense to me but, yeah okay. Gives him…motivation? Everyone needs to be motivated sometimes."

"Just _drive_ Stiles." Kori growled, cutting into Stiles' rambling.

"Right, yes. Driving again. Good. To the vet clinic…which is closed…with a werewolf. How is this my life?"

"Stiles." Derek hissed, eyes clenched tight. "Just drive, before I rip you throat out. With my teeth."

"God. Okay, Jesus. Why all the threats today?" Stiles mumbles, pulling back onto the road.

Silence falls in the Jeep as Stiles makes his way to the vet clinic. Derek met Kori's eyes in the mirror, she glanced away at the pale face looking at her.

"Kori." Derek says gently. "It's going to be okay."

She looks back to his reflection, deep shadows settling in under his hazel eyes. "What if it's not?" She asked, her voice cracking.

"You can't think like that, Kori." Stiles tells her. "Don't think the worst. Scott's is going to find the bullet and Derek's going to be fine. This is just a bump in the road."

"Pretty big bump."

"Okay, yeah maybe. But still a bump. Your dude here seems pretty tough to me, I don't think he's going to let one little bullet take him down."

"You don't even like him, Stiles. Why do you care?"

Stiles glances nervously at Derek. "I never said…look, I don't know him, okay? I don't know if I trust him, no offense, but you're my cousin and I love you. You've dealt with a lot of shit I just hate for you to add another thing to that list, a thing that isn't even a thing yet." Stiles looks over to Derek again, the wolf gives him a grateful nod in appreciation.

Kori nods, sliding forward in her seat again to squeeze in the space between the two up front. Derek shifts to his left, leaning toward her. She sets her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes as they begin to prickle with the threat of tears. Derek presses his nose into her hair, inhaling her scent to try and remember everything about it and help keep him grounded.

"I'm going to be fine." He whispers to her.

"Is that why you're scenting me?"

"I have a plan if Scott's too late. Don't worry."

"What's that?" Kori murmured, but Derek just rested his head against Kori's. "Derek, what's your plan?"


End file.
